MEMORIAL  ADDRESSES 


LIFE  AND  CHARACTER 


CHARLES  FREDERICK  CRISP 


(LATE  A  REPRESENTATIVE  FROM  GEORGIA), 


DELIVERED    IN    THE 


HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES  AND  SENATE, 


FIFTY-FOURTH  CONGRESS,  SECOND  SESSION. 


PUBLISHED    BY    ORDER    OF    CONGRESS 


WASHINGTON : 

GOVERNMENT     PRINTING     OFFICE. 
I897. 


Cq 


CONTENTS. 

Page. 

PROCEEDINGS  IN  THE  HOUSE 5 

MEMORIAL  ADDRESSES  BY — 

Mr.  HENRY  G.  TURNER,  of  Georgia 8 

Mr.  DAVID  BREMNER  HENDERSON,  of  Iowa 10 

Mr.  THOMAS  CLENDINEN  CATCHINGS,  of  Mississippi.  12 

Mr.  JOHN  DALZ^LL,  of  Pennsylvania 24 

Mr.  JAMES  DANIEL  RICHARDSON,  of  Tennessee 28 

Mr.  JOHN  W.  MADDOX,  of  Georgia 35 

Mr.  BENTON  McMiLLiN,  of  Tennessee 40 

Mr.  AMOS  J.  CUMMINGS,  of  New  York 44 

Mr.  BINGER  HERMANN,  of  Oregon 49 

Mr.  NELSON  DINGLEY,  Jr. ,  of  Maine 53 

Mr.  DAVID  A.  DE  ARMOND,  of  Missouri 57 

Mr.  HUGH  ANDERSON  DINSMORE,  of  Arkansas 63 

Mr.  CHARLES  F.  BUCK,  of  Louisiana 68 

Mr.  CHARLES  M.  COOPER,  of  Florida 74 

Mr.  CLAUDE  A.  SWANSON,  of  Virginia 77 

Mr.  JOHN  FLETCHER  L,ACEY,  of  Iowa 80 

Mr.  JOHN  C.  BELL,  of  Colorado 86 

Mr.  JOSEPH  WHEELER,  of  Alabama 89 

Mr.  FRED  A.  WOODARD,  of  North  Carolina. 91 

Mr.  FERNANDO  C.  L,AYTON,  of  Ohio 95 

Mr.  JOHN  H.  BANKHEAD,  of  Alabama 99 

Mr.  JOHN  I/HJNDES  MCL,AURIN,  of  South  Carolina.  .  .  103 

Mr.  JAMES  B.  McCREARY,  of  Kentucky io& 

3 


4  Contents. 

PROCEEDINGS  IN  THE  HOUSE — Continued.  Page. 
MEMORIAL  ADDRESSES  BY— 

Mr.  GEORGE  L.  WELLINGTON,  of  Maryland 112 

Mr.  PARISH  CARTER  TATE,  of  Georgia 117 

Mr.  LEONIDAS  F.  LIVINGSTON,  of  Georgia 124 

Mr.  THOMAS  G.  I,AWSON,  of  Georgia 127 

Mr.  ELIJAH  ADAMS  MORSE,  of  Massachusetts 133 

Mr.  HENRY  ST.  GEORGE  TUCKER,  of  Virginia 137 

Mr.  WARREN  BREWSTER  HOOKER,  of  New  York.  ...  141 

Mr.  CHARLES  L.  BARTLETT,  of  Georgia 143 

PROCEEDINGS  IN  THE  SENATE 161 

MEMORIAL  ADDRESSES  BY— 

Mr.  JOHN  B.  GORDON,  of  Georgia  .  . » 164 

Mr.  JACOB  H.  GALLINGER,  of  New  Hampshire 169 

Mr.  ARTHUR  P.  GORMAN,  of  Maryland 171 

Mr.  JAMES  H.  BERRY,  of  Arkansas 176 

Mr.  ROGER  Q.  MILLS,  of  Texas 180 

Mr.  THOMAS  HENRY  CARTER,  of  Montana 184 

Mr.  JOHN  WARWICK  DANIEL,  of  Virginia 186 

Mr.  AUGUSTUS  OCTAVIUS  BACON,  of  Georgia 192 


DEATH  OF  CHARLES  FREDERICK  CRISP, 


PROCEEDINGS  IN  THE  HOUSE. 

DECEMBER  7,  1896. 

Mr.  TURNER,  of  Georgia.  Mr.  Speaker,  it  is  my  painful 
duty  to  have  to  announce  to  the  House  the  untimely  death 
of  my  colleague  CHARLES  FREDERICK  CRISP,  late  a  mem 
ber  of  this  body,  which  occurred  in  the  city  of  Atlanta, 
Ga.,  on  the  23d  day  of  October  last. 

At  some  later  day  in  the  session  I  will  ask  the  House 
to  appoint  a  time  when  his  friends  here  may  pay  fitting 
tribute  to  his  distinguished  character  and  to  his  eminent 
public  services.  At  the  present  time  I  offer  the  following 
resolutions  for  immediate  consideration. 

The  Clerk  read  as  follows : 

Resolved,  That  the  House  has  heard  with  profound  sorrow 
of  the  death  of  Hon.  CHARLES  FREDERICK  CRISP,  late  a  Rep 
resentative  from  the  State  of  Georgia. 

Resolved,  That  as  a  mark  of  respect  to  his  memory  the 
House  do  now  adjourn. 

Resolved,  That  the  Clerk  communicate  these  resolutions  to 
the  Senate. 

The  resolutions  were  agreed  to;  and  accordingly  the 
House  (at  3  o'clock  and  45  minutes  p.  m.)  adjourned  until 
12  o'clock  to-morrow  (Tuesday). 


MEMORIAL  ADDRESSES. 

JANUARY  16,  1897. 

The  SPEAKER.   The  Clerk  will  report  the  special  order. 
The  Clerk  read  as  follows: 

Resolved,  That  Saturday,  January  16,  1897,  beginning  at  i 
o'clock  p.  m. ,  be  set  apart  for  paying  a  tribute  to  the  memory 
of  the  Hon.  CHARLES  F.  CRISP,  late  a  member  of  the  House  of 
Representatives  from  the  State  of  Georgia. 

Mr.  TURNER,  of  Georgia.  Mr.  Speaker,  I  offer  the  reso 
lutions  which  I  send  to  the  Clerk's  desk. 

The  SPEAKER.  The  gentleman  from  Georgia  [Mr.  Turner] 
offers  the  following  resolutions,  which  will  be  reported  by 
the  Clerk  of  the  House. 

The  Clerk  read  as  follows: 

Resolved,  That  the  business  of  the  House  be  now  suspended, 
that  opportunity  may  be  given  for  tributes  to  the  memory  of 
Hon.  CHARLES  F.  CRISP,  late  a  Representative  from  the  State 
of  Georgia. 

Resolved,  That  as  a  mark  of  respect  to  the  memory  of  the 
deceased,  and  in  recognition  of  his  eminent  abilities  as  a  distin 
guished  public  servant,  the  House,  at  the  conclusion  of  these 
memorial  proceedings,  shall  stand  adjourned. 

Resolved,  That  the  Clerk  communicate  these  resolutions  to 
the  Senate. 

Resolved,  That  the  Clerk  be  instructed  to  communicate  a 
copy  of  these  resolutions  to  the  family  of  the  deceased. 

7 


8          Life  and  Character  of  Charles  Frederick  Crisp. 


ADDRESS  OF  MR.  TURNER. 

Mr.  TURNER.  Mr.  Speaker,  CHARLES  FREDERICK  CRISP 
was  born  on  the  2gth  of  January,  1845.  ^n  tne  month  of 
May,  1861,  while  he  was  still  but  a  lad,  he  enlisted  in  the 
Army  of  the  Confederate  States,  and  his  service  was  thence 
forth  rendered  in  the  State  of  Virginia.  At  the  end  of  the 
war,  when  he  had.  still  not  reached  his  majority,  he  studied 
law,  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1866.  Soon  thereafter 
he  became  solicitor-general  of  his  judicial  circuit,  was 
reappointed  to  that  honorable  station,  and  then  became 
judge  of  the  superior  court,  in  which  high  station  he  served 
for  five  years,  and  was  then  nominated  for  Congress. 

Appearing  on  this  floor  during  the  Forty-eighth  Con 
gress,  he  was  reelected  consecutively  six  times.  He  became 
Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives  during  two  terms, 
and  during  the  present  Congress,  by  the  nomination  of  his 
party  associates,  he  became  leader  of  his  party. 

During  a  prior  Congress,  and  while  he  was  Speaker,  the 
governor  of  Georgia  tendered  him  an  ad  interim  appoint 
ment  to  the  Senate  of  the  United  States,  to  fill  the  vacancy 
caused  by  the  death  of  the  late  Gen.  Alfred  H.  Colquitt. 
That  honorable  position  he  declined.  During  the  present 
Congress  he  became  a  candidate  for  a  regular  term  in  the 
Senate,  to  begin  on  the  4th  day  of  March  next,  and  in  the 
early  part  of  October  last  a  general  assembly  was  chosen  in 
Georgia,  which  would  in  a  few  weeks,  with  practical  una 
nimity,  have  elected  him  to  the  Senate.  He  died  on  the  23d 
day  of  October  last,  a  few  weeks  after  his  last  great  success. 

The  remarkable  eminence  which  he  attained  seems 
greater  when  contrasted  with  his  humble  beginning.  His 


Address  of  Mr.  Turner.  9 

training  in  the  schools  was  limited.  While  yet  a  youth  he 
joined  the  Confederate  Army,  and  had  not  reached  his 
majority  when  the  war  ceased.  From  a  military  prison  he 
went  forth  to  the  struggle  of  life,  without  education  and 
without  resources,  amid  a  people  prostrated  by  a  great 
defeat  in  war  and  impoverished  by  its  desolating  conse 
quences.  He  was  the  foster  child  of  adversity.  In  the 
camp,  on  the  march,  and  in  battle  he  learned  lessons  more 
difficult  than  those  taught  in  the  schools.  There  is  not  in 
all  the  varied  round  of  human  experience  a  more  pathetic 
trial  than  that  of  a  tender  youth  suddenly  subjected  to  the 
horrors  of  war.  But  the  lad  who  can  bear  strain  and  endure 
privation  and  face  danger  and  death  may  in  peace  climb 
the  dizzy  heights  to  an  elevation  next  to  the  highest  in  the 
world.  His  great  career  ended  in  his  prime.  His  bright 
day  closed  at  its  noontide.  He  left  this  last  field  of  honor 
without  the  sting  of  defeat  and  amid  the  cheers  of  victory. 
But,  sir,  between  my  late  colleague  and  myself  there  was  a 
wide  difference  of  opinion.  I  leave  to  others  the  pleasant 
task  of  delineating  the  traits  of  character  which  endeared 
him  to  his  friends,  and  of  recounting  the  steps  by  which  he 
rose  to  the  highest  places  of  power  and  responsibility. 


io        Lijc  ami  Character  of  Charles  Frederick  Crisp. 


ADDRESS  OF  MR.  HENDERSON. 

Mr.  HENDERSON.  Mr.  Speaker,  a  sad  duty  engages  our 
attention  to-day.  We  are  here  to  review  the  life,  services, 
and  character  of  our  distinguished  colleague  and  ex- 
Speaker  of  this  House,  CHARLES  FREDERICK  CRISP. 

To  his  own  delegation  will  be  assigned  the  sacred  duty 
of  pointing  out  historically  the  leading  actions  of  his  life. 
I  will  briefly  consider  Mr.  CRISP  from  the  standpoint  of 
my  personal  acquaintance  and  relationship  with  him  as  a 
member  of  this  body. 

This  House  presents  in  a  marked  degree  evidence  of 
the  great  law  of  change  affecting  all  the  relations  of  life. 
Mr.  CRISP  commenced  his  service  as  a  member  of  this 
body  in  the  Forty-eighth  Congress.  When  he  died  there 
were  only  twelve  members  in  the  Fifty-fourth  Congress 
who  had  served  continuously  with  him  from  the  time  he 
entered  Congress,  and  twenty  in  the  same  Congress  who 
served  with  him  in  the  Forty-eighth.  He  was  one  of 
seven  elected  to  the  Fifty-fourth  Congress  who  were 
removed  by  death.  These  facts  suggest  the  uncertainty  of 
all  life's  positions  and  of  life  itself. 

My  relations  with  Mr.  CRISP  have  been  somewhat  singu 
lar.  He  was  the  first  member  of  Congress  with  whom 
I  held  heated  debate,  and  I  believe  I  was  the  last  with 
whom  he  had  debate  developing  some  of  the  feelings  so 
often  incident  to  our  legislative  life,  but  leaving  no  scar. 
Our  relations  always,  saving  our  first  experience,  were  of 
the  most  friendly  character,  and  our  first  sharp  encounter 
taught  us,  I  believe,  to  respect  each  other. 

Though  never  intimate  with   Mr.   CRISP  in  that  sense 


Address  of  Mr,  Henderson.  1 1 

which  means  comradeship,  so  necessary  to  my  life,  we  were 
always  good  friends,  enjoying-  thoroughly  cordial  relations 
and  mutual  respect.  I  soon  learned  that  his  word  once 
given  to  me  was  sacredly  kept. 

He  was  a  man  of  high  honor,  and  self-respect  was  a 
dominating  element  in  his  character. 

He  was  truly  a  strong,  deep,  and  earnest  character.  He 
was  never  a  trifler. 

He  was  kind  and  gentle  in  his  manner,  so  much  so  in 
ordinary  relations  that  one  often  wondered  at  the  high  and 
intense  feeling  which  at  times  he  was  capable  of  swiftly 
reaching. 

Some  are  constituted  so  as  to  move  through  life  on  a 
dead,  cold  level ;  others  sound  all  the  notes  of  life,  reveling 
in  its  sunlight,  suffering  in  its  shadows.  The  greatest 
lives  know  both  storm  and  rest.  The  Pacific  Ocean  can 
woo  to  its  waters,  but  can  drive  in  terror  to  its  shores. 

These  thoughts  come  from  a  study  of  Mr.  CRISP  in 
my  fourteen  years'  relationship  with  him  on  this  floor. 
He  had  in  his  nature  the  sunlight  and  the  shadow,  the 
tempest  and  the  calm. 

Entering  the  Confederate  Army  as  a  mere  boy  of  about 
1 6,  he  soon  learned  how  very  serious  a  matter  life  was.  It 
tempered  the  good  metal  until  it  was  capable  of  great 
work,  and  the  boy  without  a  boyhood  was  soon  a  powerful 
and  aggressive  man.  His  strength  and  ability  invited  the 
confidence  of  the  people,  who  soon  elevated  him,  step  after 
step,  until,  in  this  body,  he  reached  a  position  of  power 
second  only  to  that  of  the  Chief  Executive. 

When  death  took  him,  he  had  not  yet  attained  the  fullest 
stature  of  his  mind. 

The  great  Georgian  sleeps — after  a  hard,  active,  tireless 
summer's  work  and  before  the  autumn's  harvest  had  come. 


1 2        Life  and  Character  of  Charles  Frederick  Crisp. 


ADDRESS  OF  MR.  CATCHINGS. 

Mr.  CATCHINGS.  Mr.  Speaker,  it  has  long  been  a  custom 
with  the  House  of  Representatives,  upon  the  death  of  one 
of  its  members,  to  set  apart  a  day  upon  whic^i  addresses  may 
be  delivered  for  the  purpose  of  placing  upon  its  records  in 
suitable  form  evidence  of  the  esteem  in  which  he  was  held. 
It  is  exceedingly  difficult  to  prepare  remarks  for  such  pur 
pose  which  shall  be  in  all  particulars  appropriate.  We  are 
prone  to  indulge  in  fulsome  eulogy,  or,  in  the  effort  to 
avoid  that,  to  fall  short  of  paying  just  tribute.  On  this 
occasion,  to  me  the  task  is  peculiarly  trying.  The  rela 
tions  between  CHARLES  FREDERICK  CRISP  and  myself 
were  so  intimate,  my  affection  for  him  was  so  great,  and 
my  estimate  of  his  character  and  abilities  so  high,  that 
I  shrink  from  speaking  of  him  as  they  would  naturally 
prompt  me  to  do.  The  strong  qualities  which  enabled  him 
to  grasp  and  retain  the  unchallenged  leadership  of  his  party 
in  the  House  of  Representatives,  and  which  twice  gave  him 
its  Speakership,  manifested  themselves  in  his  boyhood,  and 
steadily  grew  in  potency  and  brilliancy  up  to  the  very  hour 
of  his  death.  He  entered  the  Confederate  Army  when  a 
slender  lad  but  16  years  of  age.  Notwithstanding  his 
extreme  youth,  he  was  soon  elected  to  a  lieutenancy  of  his 
company.  Had  he  not  been  made  a  prisoner  of  war  in 
May,  1864,  and  confined  as  such  until  hostilities  had  ended, 
there  can  be  little  doubt  that  he  would  have  earned  and 
achieved  still  higher  and  more  responsible  rank.  Within 
five  years  from  his  admission  to  the  bar  he  was  appointed 
solicitor-general  for  one  of  the  judicial  circuits  of  his  State, 
and  in  1873  was  reappointed  for  a  term  of  four  years. 


Address  of  Mr,  Catchings.  13 

His  advancement  in  his  profession  was  so  rapid  that  in 
1877  he  was  appointed  jndge  of  the  superior  court  of  the 
same  circuit,  and  he  was  afterwards  twice  elected  to  that 
office.  In  1882  he  was  elected  a  Representative  in  Con- 
oress,  and  was  six  times  successively  reelected.  Almost 

C»  J 

from  the  day  of  his  entrance  into  the  House  of  Represent 
atives  he  was  recognized  as  one  of  its  foremost  members. 
In  the  Forty-ninth  Congress,  as  a  member  of  the  Committee 
on  Commerce,  in  the  absence  of  its  distinguished  chairman, 
he  had  in  charge  the  bill  to  create  the  Interstate  Commerce 
Commission  and  define  its  jurisdiction  and  powers.  That 
measure  elicited  prolonged,  earnest,  and  serious  debate,  and 
the  great  skill  and  ability  displayed  by  him  in  defending  it 
and  securing  its  passage  gave  him  rank  among  the  strongest 
and  most  useful  Representatives.  He  had  already,  in  the 
Forty-eighth  Congress,  given  evidence  of  that  remarkable 
grasp  and  perception  of  parliamentary  law  which  was  speed 
ily  to  develop  until  he  became  one  of  its  acknowledged 
masters.  It  will  be  remembered  that  the  seat  of  Hon.  John 
G.  Carlisle,  the  Speaker  of  the  Fiftieth  Congress,  was  con 
tested.  This  made  it  improper  that  the  members  of  the 
Committee  on  Elections,  which  would  be  charged  with  the 
duty  of  examining  into  and  reporting  upon  this  contest, 
should  be  appointed  by  him.  It  was  therefore  provided 
that  the  committee  should  be  chosen  directly  by  the  House 
of  Representatives. 

Hon.  Henry  G.  Turner,  of  Georgia,  then  as  now  an 
honored  Representative,  had  been  chairman  of  that  com 
mittee  in  the  Forty-ninth  Congress,  and  in  that  capacity 
had  rendered  most  useful  and  distinguished  service.  He 
declined  to  serve  longer  on  that  committee.  Mr.  CRISP'S 
power  in  debate,  professional  acquirements,  and  aptitude 


14        Life  and  Character  of  Charles  Frederick  Crisp. 

for  parliamentary  management  had  been  so  notable  that,  as 
by  one  impulse,  his  Democratic  colleagues,  though  against 
his  will,  selected  him  for  the  chairmanship  of  that  com 
mittee.  His  work  in  connection  with  it  was  of  such  high 
order  that  when  the  Fiftieth  Congress  ended,  he  had  greatly 
advanced  himself  in  public  estimation  as  well  as  in  the 
regard  of  his  colleagues.  In  the  Fifty-first  Congress,  which 
had  passed  under  Republican  control,  he  was  the  senior 
member  of  the  Democratic  minority  of  .the  Committee  on 
Elections.  Though  not  holding  a  committee  assignment 
of  such  character  as  according  to  the  precedents  invested 
him  with  the  highest  rank,  yet,  immediately  upon  Mr. 
Carlisle's  retirement  from  this  body  to  occupy  the  seat  in 
the  Senate  to  which  he  had  been  elected,  by  sheer  force  of 
his  remarkable  fitness  he  immediately  forged  to  the  front 
and  seized  the  actual,  substantial  leadership  of  his  party, 
which  was  never  wrested  from  him  until  he  had  closed  his 
eyes  in  his  last  and  eternal  sleep.  No  good  purpose  can  be 
subserved  by  recalling  the  fierce  and  frequent  struggles 
which  marked  the  stormy  career  of  that  Congress. 

It  is  sufficient  to  say  that  this  gallant  and  courageous 
leader  was  ever  in  the  thick  of  the  fight,  battling  bravely 
for  the  right  as  he  saw,  it,  and  that  amid  all  the  heat  and 
fury  of  the  turbulent  scenes  then  enacted  his  mind  was  ever 
clear,  his  aims  definite,  his  purpose  unfaltering,  and  his 
poise  of  character  so  magnificent  and  superb  as  to  chal 
lenge  the  respect  and  admiration  of  the  whole  country. 
When  it  became  known  that  the  Fifty-second  Congress 
would  have  a  Democratic  majority,  he  was  at  once  a  candi 
date  for  the  Speakership.  His  candidacy  was  not  of  his 
own  making.  It  came  about  upon  the  insistence  of  a  large 
number  of  his  party  colleagues,  who,  witnessing  -his  steady 


Address  of  Mr.  Catchings.  15 

growth,  the  wonderful  versatility  he  had  displayed  in  the 
discharge  of  every  duty  to  which  he  had  been  assigned,  and 
above  all  the  masterful  qualities  which  had  distinguished 
his  conduct  amid  the  trying  events  of  the  Fifty-first  Con 
gress,  desired  that  he  should  be  elevated  to  the  Speakership 
and  charged  with  the  grave  responsibilities  pertaining  to 
that  exalted  office.  The  contest  over  the  Speakership  of 
the  Fifty-second  Congress  was  one  of  the  most  memorable 
in  the  annals  of  the  House  of  Representatives.  With  no 
external  influences  to  aid  him,  victory  came  to  him  through 
the  sheer  force  of  his  strong  and  attractive  personality  and 
the  profound  admiration  excited  by  the  eminent  services 
he  had  rendered  his  party  under  circumstances  which  dis 
played  to  advantage  his  great  and  forceful  qualities.  Dur 
ing  this  contest  bitter  attacks  were  made  upon  him  from 
many  sources,  but  his  character  was  so  lofty  and  his  quali 
fications  so  conspicuous  that  the  shafts  of  misrepresentation 
and  calumny  fell  harmless  at  his  feet.  He  did  not  regard 
his  election  as  in  any  sense  a  personal  triumph,  and  I  know 
that  he  entered  upon  the  duties  of  the  office  of  Speaker 
with  as  pure  and  patriotic  emotions  as  ever  animated  the 
human  breast. 

The  difficulties  and  responsibilities  attendant  upon  that 
office  are  known  to  few  outside  of  this  Chamber,  and  in  all 
their  details  they  are  not  fully  appreciated  by  many  of  us 
here.  The  Speaker  appoints  all  the  committees  of  the 
House.  This  power  of  appointment,  conferred  upon  him 
by  our  rules,  enables  him  in  a  large  measure  to  give  color 
to  all  important  legislation  which  may  be  proposed  by  the 
several  committees.  The  pressure  upon  him  by  members 
of  the  House  for  such  assignments  as  their  ambition  or 
tastes  may  lead  them  to  desire  is  persistent  and  tremendous. 


1 6        Life  and  Character  of  Charles  Frederick  Crisp. 

While  he  can  not  and  should  not  turn  an  indifferent  ear  to 
the  claims  of  his  friends  and  supporters,  yet  he  must  not 
forget  that  the  responsibility  for  legislation  rests  largely 
upon  him,  and  that  beyond  certain  limitations,  if  he  would 
have  the  best  work  done,  he  can  not  afford  to  be  influenced 
by  personal  considerations  or  the  inclinations  of  friendship. 
And  in  any  event,  even  where  all  considerations  are  equal, 
his  appointments  can  not  be  shaped  so  as  to  satisfy  the 
expectations  or  desires  of  all. 

Under  the  rules  of  the  House,  very  few  of  the  commit 
tees  have  the  privilege  of  calling  up  for  consideration  at 
any  time  bills  reported  by  them.  Committees  not  possess 
ing  this  privilege,  and  members  interested  in  bills  reported 
by  them,  are  constantly  importuning  the  Speaker  to  allow 
such  measures  to  be  acted  upon.  This  imposes  upon  him 
the  burden  of  examining  these  bills,  passing  judgment 
upon  them,  and  determining  whether  or  not  he  will  inter 
vene  to  secure  their  consideration  by  the  House.  In  the 
very  nature  of  things  he  feels  the  necessity  in  the  large 
majority  of  instances  of  this  sort  to  refuse  his  intervention. 
While  the  Speaker  is  not  so  separated  from  the  member 
ship  of  the  House  as  that,  as  in  the  case  of  the  Speaker  of  the 
British  House  of  Commons,  he  must  cease  to  be  a  partisan 
when  he  assumes  the  duties  of  his  office,  yet  as  to  all  ques 
tions  not  involved  in  party  policy  it  is  incumbent  upon  him 
to  deal  fairly  and  impartially  with  all  the  members  of  the 
House.  A  man  so  constituted  that  he  can  not  as  to  such 
non partisan  questions  be  absolutely  just  and  equitable  is 
not  qualified  for  the  office  of  Speaker.  No  man  can  satis 
factorily  discharge  the  functions  of  the  Speakership  who 
is  not  a  good  judge  of  human  nature.  He  must  under 
stand  that  there  are  "many  men  of  many  minds;"  that 


Address  of  Mr.  Catching  s.  17 

peculiarities  of  temperament  exist  among  the  members  of 
this  House  as  elsewhere;  that  some  of  them  are  insistent  and 
persistent,  while  others  are  diffident  and  shrinking;  that 
some  are  extremely  sensitive  and  easily  wounded,  while 
others  are  phlegmatic  and  not  of  so  fine  a  mold;  that  self- 
assertiveness  and  loquacity  are  not  always,  or  even  usually, 
accompanied  by  the  best  ability,  and  finally  that,  generally 
stated,  each  member  is  fairly  striving  to  serve  his  constit 
uency  according  to  the  lights  before  him. 

How  well  Mr.  CRISP  met  the  requirements  of  the 
Speaker's  office  there  are  many  here  and  elsewhere  who 
can  attest.  His  kindly  and  patient  consideration  of  all 
requests  made  of  him  was  notorious.  He  was  always 
accessible,  and  neither  by  word  nor  manner  gave  offense 
to  those  whose  official  duties  compelled  them  to  approach 
him.  Amid  all  the  pressure  upon  him,  even  after  his 
health  was  broken  and  the  burdens  of  the  office  seemed 
more  than  he  could  bear,  as  Clarendon  said  of  the  great 
Hampden,  ' '  He  preserved  his  own  natural  cheerfulness  and 
vivacity,  and  above  all  a  flowing  courtesy  to  all  men." 
Indeed,  his  nature  was  so  kindly  and  his  desire  to  possess 
the  esteem  and  friendship  of  his  colleagues  so  intense,  that 
even  when  it  must  have  cost  him  great  effort  he  would 
assume  that  cordial  manner  and  cheery  smile  so  familiar  to 
all  of  us  in  this  Chamber.  In  dispensing  the  privileges 
at  his  disposal  regarding  the  proceedings  of  the  House 
he  was  absolutely  impartial,  and  neither  friend  nor  foe 
ever  suspected  that  he  had  not  received  from  him  fair  and 
equitable  treatment. 

As  a  presiding  officer  he  has  had  few  equals.      His  pres 
ence  in  the  Speaker's  chair  was  so  fine  and  manly,  his 
voice  so  full  and  resonant,  and  his  alertness  and  power  in 
H.  Doc.  255 2 


i8       Life  and  Character  of  Charles  Frederick  Crisp. 

dealing  with  parliamentary  problems  so  manifest,  that  it 
was  always  a  pleasure  to  onlookers  to  witness  the  superb 
manner  in  which  he  presided  over  our  deliberations.  Mis 
understandings  and  collisions  between  members  sometimes 
occur  to  mar  the  proceedings  here,  and  of  these  he  had  his 
share,  as  was  to  be  expected  in  view  of  his  strong  character 
and  prominent  position.  But  he  never  sought  to  provoke 
these  troubles,  and  I  have  many  times  heard  him  express 
the  keenest  regret  that  he  had  been  drawn  into  them.  He 
was  a  very  ambitious  man,  but  his  ambition  was  to  render 
honorable  service  to  his  country,  and  not  to  exalt  himself. 
He  believed  in  the  teachings,  principles,  and  traditions  of 
the  Democratic  party,  and  therefore  was  an  earnest  partisan. 
But  his  partisanship  was  not  of  that  cheap  quality  which 
eternally  proclaims  itself  lest  it  be  overlooked,  nor  was  it 
ever  displayed  in  such  manner  as  to  be  personally  offensive 
to  others.  While  his  opinion  was  firm  upon  all  subjects 
that  he  had  investigated,  he  was  more  than  scrupulous  in 
yielding  respect  to  the  judgment  of  those  who  differed  with 
him.  He  recognized  the  right  of  all  men  to  think  for 
themselves,  and  imputed  no  improper  motives  or  lack  of 
ability  to  those  who  had  reached  conclusions  and  expressed 
opinions  different  from  his  own. 

This  fairness  upon  his  part  was  ever  displayed  in  his  offi 
cial  capacity  as  Speaker  as  well  as  in  private  intercourse. 
During  the  extra  session  of  1893,  when  the  House  of  Rep 
resentatives  was  called  upon  to  deal  with  the  important 
financial  question  then  presented  for  its  consideration, 
although  he  was  an  earnest  advocate  of  the  free  coinage  of 
silver,  his  official  conduct  was  so  fair  and  exempt  from  all 
personal  bias  or  prejudice  that  no  man,  whatever  his  views 
may  have  been,  could  have  pointed  to  any  word  or  act  of 


Address  of  Mr.  Catching s.  19 

his  upon  which  to  base  complaint  or  criticism.  And  as  in 
this  instance,  so  it  ever  was  with  him  in  dealing  with  great 
public  questions.  I  do  not  hesitate  to  affirm  that  through 
out  his  Congressional  career,  from  its  beginning  to  the  end, 
he  displayed  the  highest  qualities  of  leadership,  and  that 
he  was  ever  guided  by  aspirations  and  sentiments  altogether 
ennobling.  -The  distinguished  Speaker  of  this  House,  in  a 
telegram  of  condolence  sent  upon  his  death  to  his  bereaved 
widow,  truly  said  that  his  loss  is  the  country's.  He  had 
rendered  his  country  great  and  valuable  service,  and,  being 
yet  in  the  prime  of  life,  he  had  abundant  resources  upon 
which,  if  life  had  been  spared,  he  would  freely  and  proudly 
have  drawn  in  its  interest  and  behalf. 

His  services  as  Speaker  of  the  Fifty-second  Congress  were 
so  notable  and  satisfactory  to  his  party  that  he  was  reelected 
to  the  Speakership  of  the  Fifty-third  Congress  without  oppo 
sition,  and  in  the  Fifty-fourth  Congress,  which  had  passed 
under  Republican  control,  he  was  complimented  by  the 
unanimous  vote  of  his  party  associates  for  that  office.  Dur 
ing  the  Fifty-third  Congress  he  was  tendered  by  the  gov 
ernor  of  Georgia  the  appointment  as  Senator  to  fill  the 
vacancy  created  by  the  death  of  Senator  Colquitt.  It  was 
no  small  part  of  his  ambition  to  represent  his  State  in  that 
august  body.  Accompanying  this  tender  came  telegrams 
from  distinguished  citizens  of  Georgia  who  aspired  to  the 
vacant  seat  in  the  Senate,  pledging  him  that  if  he  would 
accept  the  appointment  he  should  have  no  opposition  for 
election  before  the  legislature.  He  did  not  feel  that  under 
the  existing  circumstances  he  would  be  justified  in  vacating 
the  Speakership,  and  therefore  promptly  put  aside  the 
tempting  object  of  his  ambition.  In  talking  with  him  on 
the  subject  I  suggested  that  the  opportunity  to  attain  a  seat 


2O        Life  and  Character  of  Charles  Frederick  Crisp. 

in  the  Senate  might  never  come  to  him  again,  and  insisted 
that  he  was  not  called  upon  to  perform  such  an  act  of  self- 
abnegation.  Other  friends  tendered  him  similar  advice. 
He  could  not  view  the  situation  in  that  light,  and  so,  plac 
ing  country  and  party  above  self,  he  declined  the  great 
honor,  and  so  far  as  outward  appearances  indicated  without 
the  slightest  pain  or  even  regret.  And  yet  I  knew,  as  many 
of  his  friends  did,  that  he  desired  almost  above  all  things 
to  be  a  Senator  from  the  State  of  Georgia.  No  finer  act 
was  ever  performed  by  a  public  man,  and  it  is  in  itself 
ample  proof  of  the  nobility  of  his  soul  and  the  loftiness  of 
his  character.  The  people  of  his  State,  remembering  his 
unselfish  sacrifice,  upon  the  announcement  by  Senator 
Gordon  in  the  spring  of  last  year  that  he  would  not 
seek  reelection,  promptly  determined  that  Mr.  CRISP  should 
be  his  successor,  and  although  considerable  effort  was  made 
to  organize  opposition,  yet  the  admiration  and  respect  of 
the  people  for  him  was  so  unbounded  that  it  was  swept 
away  like  chaff  before  the  wind  ;  and  at  the  general  pri 
maries  held  throughout  the  State  in  the  summer  and  fall  of 
1896  he  was  chosen  as  the  Democratic  nominee  by  a  sub 
stantially  unanimous  vote.  But  the  legislature  of  Georgia 
was  not  permitted  to  ratify  this  verdict  of  the  people  by 
investing  him  with  formal  title  to  a  seat  in  the  United 
States  vSenate. 

The  disorder  from  which  he  had  long  been  suffering 
suddenly  struck  him  down  on  the  23d  day  of  October, 
1896,  and,  as  with  Moses  of  old,  when  in  sight  of  the  goal 
of  his  ambition,  his  noble  spirit  took  its  flight  from  all 
earthly  scenes.  The  deep  and  widespread  regret  which  at 
once,  through  telegrams,  letters,  resolutions,  and  otherwise, 
manifested  itself  in  all  sections  of  the  country  gave 


Address  of  Air.  Catching  s.  21 

evidence  of  the  profound  impression  created  throughout 
the  United  States  by  his  eminent  public  services  and  of  the 
high  and  affectionate  esteem  in  which  he  was  almost  uni 
versally  held.  In  the  State  of  Georgia,  upon  which  his 
splendid  career  had  reflected  such  honor,  the  grief  of  the 
people  knew  no  bounds,  and  was  manifested  by  many  and 
impressive  public  ceremonials.  For  a  time  his  body  lay  in 
state  in  the  capitol  at  Atlanta,  where  multitudes  of  both 
sexes  and  of  all  ages  and  colors  thronged  to  view  it.  It 
was  then  carried  to  his  home  in  Americus  upon  a  special 
train,  escorted  by  the  whole  body  of  State  officials  and  a 
delegation  of  judges  in  behalf  of  the  judiciary  of  the  State. 
At  all  the  stations  along  the  route  vast  crowds  gathered, 
in  many  instances  accompanied  by  military  organizations, 
and  often  insisting  upon  having  the  casket  opened  that 
they  might  once  more  behold  the  features  of  their  honored 
dead.  In  Americus,  his  home,  where  he  was  revered  by 
his  neighbors  for  his  great  achievements  and  loved  for  his 
affectionate  and  generous  nature,  upon  every  building, 
whether  private  or  public,  emblems  of  mourning  were 
profusely  displayed.  Large  delegations  from  every  com 
munity  in  his  Congressional  district  gathered  there  to  par 
ticipate  in  the  funeral  rites.  On  the  25th  day  of  October, 
amid  the  tears  and  lamentations  of  that  vast  assemblage, 
our  honored  friend  and  distinguished  colleague  was  ten 
derly  laid  away  in  his  last  resting  place. 

I  have  not  yet  spoken  of  his  domestic  relations;  indeed,  I 
scarce  know  how  to  speak  of  them.  They  may  be  summed 
up  in  the  statement  that  he  was  a  devoted  husband  and 
a  loving  father.  I  doubt  if  in  his  family  circle  a  harsh 
word  or  rude  sentiment  ever  escaped  his  lips.  When  with 
his  wife  and  children,  his  sweetness  of  temper,  gentle 


22        Life  and  Character  of  Charles  Frederick  Crisp, 

care,  and    kindly  consideration  were  beyond  all  power  of 
description. 

The  character  of  our  distinguished  friend  easily  accounts 
for  the  true  and  real  leadership  acquired  and  so  long 
retained  by  him  in  the  House  of  Representatives  and  else 
where.  I  say  elsewhere,  for,  as  I  have  already  pointed  out, 
he  was  under  all  conditions  and  circumstances  a  true  and 
real  leader.  He  was  wholly  exempt  from  every  species  of 
charlatanry.  He  had  no  trick  of  voice  or  deportment  to 
distinguish  him  from  others.  He  never  strutted  or  posed 
or  affected  an  air  of  wisdom  or  assumed  a  patronizing  man 
ner.  In  social  life  he  never  discoursed,  but  contented  him 
self  with  conversation,  and  that  was  always  frank  and 
polite,  and  especially  marked  by  kindly  consideration  for 
others.  He  did  not  need  to  be  bolstered  up  by  such  cheap 
and  tawdry  devices.  For  affectations  of  all  sorts  indeed  he 
had  great  contempt,  often  saying  that  they  are  the  sure 
concomitants  of  weakness  and  vulgarity.  His  official  con 
duct  was  ever  courteous  and  dignified.  Though  possessing 
great  faculty  for  retort  in  debate,  and  making  use  of  it 
whenever  it  seemed  to  be  the  most  effective  weapon,  yet  it 
was  of  the  kind  that,  though  smarting  at  the  time,  left  no 
permanent  sting  behind.  His  sagacity  was  such  that  he 
rarely  took  a  false  step  in  the  management  of  the  cause  he 
had  in  hand.  His  success  is  largely  attributable  to  the  fact 
that  he  lost  sight  of  himself  entirely  while  discharging  his 
official  duties.  I  doubt  if  he  was  ever  suspected  of  perform 
ing  for  the  sake  of  self-aggrandizement.  His  integrity  of 
purpose,  so  far  as  I  know,  was  never  questioned,  and  I  am 
sure  that  it  could  never  have  been  successfully  impeached. 
The  traits  I  have  described,  coupled  with  industry,  unceas 
ing  vigilance,  exceptional  power  in  debate,  and  a  mental 


Address  of  Mr.  Catchings.  23 

poise  which  nothing  could  disturb,  commanded  the  admira 
tion,  respect,  and  confidence  of  his  party  colleagues,  and 
caused  them  instinctively  to  turn  to  him  for  advice  and 
counsel.  They  knew  that  he  faithfully  endeavored  to  serve 
his  country  and  party;  that  no  desire  for  personal  prefer 
ment  ever  marred  his  purpose  or  directed  his  conduct;  that 
he  was  alert  and  sagacious,  studious  and  thoughtful,  care 
ful  and  prudent.  Such  a  man  could  not  fail  to  be  a  leader, 
no  matter  what  might  be  his  environments.  My  personal 
devotion  to  him  was  great,  and  I  had  abundant  cause  to 
know  that  it  was  fully  and  cordially  reciprocated.  It  gives 
me  infinite  pleasure  to  reflect  that  the  friendship  between 
us  was  never  impaired,  and  that  to  the  very  last  I  was  the 
recipient  of  his  love  and  confidence.  With  me  no  other 
can  take  his  place. 


24        Life  and  Character  of  Charles  Frederick  Crisp. 


ADDRESS  OF  MR.  DALZELL 

Mr.  DALZELL.  Mr.  Speaker,  it  seems  difficult  of  belief 
that,  while  we  are  engaged  from  day  to  day  in  the  routine 
of  Congressional  life  and  strife,  one  who  but  lately  was  in 
the  forefront  of  every  battle  on  this  floor  is  sleeping  his  last 
sleep  in  the  soil  of  his  Georgian  home.  It  requires  our 
positive  knowledge  of  a  melancholy  fact  to  persuade  us  that 
a  glance  across  the  aisle  will  not  disclose  his  presence  in  his 
accustomed  seat.  His  cheery  voice,  his  kindly  look,  the 
warm  grasp  of  his  hand,  I  can  hardly  realize  that  they  may 
not  be  with  me  on  the  morrow.  But  they  will  not.  He 
who  was  the  leader  of  his  party  here  and  a  potential  factor 
when  the  first  session  of  this  Congress  ended,  ere  its  second 
session  began,  at  the  call  of  Providence,  joined  the  great 
majority  who  have  ' '  passed  over  the  river  and  are  resting 
under  the  shade  of  the  trees. ' ' 

The  thoughts  suggested  by  an  occasion  like  this,  while 
they  are  of  the  most  solemn,  interesting,  and  suggestive 
character,  are  nevertheless  trite  and  commonplace  in  their 
expression.  True,  they  bring  us  face  to  face  with  the 
unsolved  and  insoluble  problem  of  immortality.  But  death 
is  the  common  destiny  of  all.  Men  have  been  dying  since 
the  world  began;  and  with  each  death  the  same  queries  have 
been  made  and  have  failed  of  answer.  There  is  no  oracle 
outside  of  Revelation  to  make  reply.  What  that  country 
is,  or  whether  any,  to  which  we  all  are  bound  no  man  shall 
know  save  the  emigrant  thereto.  From  him  no  answer 
comes;  and  philosophy  and  speculation  are* vain.  There  is 
no  retreat  save  to  the  faith  so  aptly  defined  by  the  great 


Address  of  Mr.  Dal 2 ell.  25 

apostle  as  k '  the  substance  of  things  hoped  for,  the  evidence 
of  things  not  seen. ' ' 

In  bringing  my  humble  but  sincere  tribute  to  the  memory 
of  CHARLES  FREDERICK  CRISP,  T  shall  not  undertake  to 
recite  at  any  length  the  history  of  his  life.  Others  more 
familiar  with  its  details  will  do  that,  and  they  will  do  it 
lovingly.  The  merest  outline  of  it  is  sufficient  to  prove 
him  to  have  been  a  man  of  mark.  Born  to  an  inheritance 
of  struggle,  without  the  advantages  of  wealth  or  influence 
or  great  name,  his  native  virtues,  and  these  only,  were  the 
factors  in  the  problem  of  his  successful  fortune.  His  edu 
cation  was  only  that  of  the  common  schools — the  common 
schools  that  so  many  times  have  been  the  grand  univer 
sities  productive  of  the  highest  type  of  American  citizen 
ship.  The  greatest  of  modern  English  poets  has  idealized 
such  character  in  his  conception  of— 

Some  divinely  gifted  man, 
Whose  life  in  low  estate  began 
And  on  a  simple  village  green; 

Who  breaks  his  birth's  invidious  bar, 
And  grasps  the  skirts  of  happy  chance, 
And  breasts  the  blows  of  circumstance, 

And  grapples  with  his  evil  star; 
Who  makes  by  force  his  merit  known, 

And  lives  to  clutch  the  golden  keys, 

To  mold  a  mighty  state's  decrees, 
And  shape  the  whisper  of  the  throne; 
And  moving  up  from  high  to  higher, 

Becomes  on  Fortune's  crowning  slope 

The  pillar  of  a  people's  hope. 

The  language  of  eulogy,  Mr.  Speaker,  is  too  apt  to  be 
the  language  of  extravagance,  and  the  extravagant  eulogist 
overleaps  his  purpose.  I  would  avoid  that  danger,  and, 
putting  aside  so  much  of  the  poet's  language  as  would  be 
extravagant  here,  will  simply  say  that  the  boy  of  nameless 
birth,  who  by  his  own  inherent  strength  became  the  Speaker 


26        Life  and  Character  of  Charles  Frederick  Crisp. 

of  the  House  of  Representatives  of  the  American  people, 
has  a  right  to  be  ranked  as  one  who  made  by  force  his  merit 
known,  and  lived  to  mold  a  mighty  State's  decrees. 

Into  the  panorama  of  our  friend's  life  there  are  woven 
many  pictures.  From  a  schoolboy  he  became  a  soldier; 
left  home  and  kindred  to  follow  the  flag  that  stood  to  him 
for  the  right.  That  was  not  our  flag.  From  our  stand 
point,  he  was  mistaken;  from  his,  he  was  a  patriot.  The 
time  has  long  since  gone  by  when  dispute  over  that  ques 
tion  may  be  had.  And  when  he  was  borne,  amid  the 
lamentations  of  his  people,  to  his  last  resting  place,  he  could 
not  have  had  (and  I  doubt  not  he  himself  would  have  said 
so)  a  more  welcome  shroud  than  the  Stars  and  Stripes — the 
symbol  of  an  indissoluble  Union  cemented  in  blood. 

In  civil  life,  with  great  distinction,  he  illustrated  the  ver 
satility  of  American  genius  and  the  grand  possibilities  of 
American  citizenship.  It  is  characteristic  of  the  American 
that  he  is  a  man  of  many  sides.  A  possible  ruler  as  well 
as  one  ruled — a  factor  in  the  creation  and  maintenance 
of  enterprises  which  under  our  system  of  government  de 
pend  upon  individual  effort  instead  of  governmental — his 
education  is  that  of  experience,  and  is  practical  and  varied. 
The  life  of  our  deceased  friend  proves  the  truth  of  this 
observation, 

He  was  a  lawyer  of  mark — first,  solicitor-general  of  his 
circuit;  then  clothed  with  the  spotless  ermine  of  a  judge. 
It  is  said  of  him  that  in  both  of  these  capacities  he  measured 
up  to  the  full  stature  of  a  perfect  manhood.  Retiring  from 
his  judgeship,  he  became  the  representative  of  his  State 
on  the  floor  of  this  House.  Here  there  is  no  need  to  sound 
his  praises.  They  are  part  and  parcel  of  the  plain  records 
of  the  American  Congress. 


Address  of  Mr.  Dalzell.  27 

During  his  period  of  service  many  questions  of  national 
importance  enlisted  legislative  attention.  His  attitude  with 
respect  thereto  was  the  attitude  of  his  party;  and  he  was 
ever  at  the  fore  in  the  assertion  and  maintenance  of  that 
party's  principles.  All  honor  to  him  for  that.  All  honor, 
say  I  always,  to  the  man  of  strong  and  honest  convictions 
who  has  the  courage  to  stand  by  them. 

In  the  assertion  and  maintenance  of  his  chosen  beliefs  he 
was  ever  a  leader.  He  possessed  the  elements  of  leader 
ship.  He  was  bold,  aggressive,  logical,  convincing.  He 
was  inspiring;  men  loved  to  follow  him.  He  was  as  brave 
in  defeat  as  in  victory.  His  leadership  asserted  itself;  and 
by  the  choice  of  his  party  during  two  Congresses  he  pre 
sided  with  dignity  in  the  great  office  of  Speaker  of  this 
House. 

I  do  not  say  that  he  was  always  right.  I  do  not  say  that 
he  had  no  faults.  Far  from  it.  He  was  a  strong  man  and 
gentle;  and  his  faults,  such  as  they  were,  were  overborne 
immensely  by  his  virtues;  and  we  have  now  no  memory 
save  for  the  latter. 

And  so  now,  with  this  simple  tribute  to  his  memory — so 
far  short  of  its  deserving — I  leave  him  to  his  conspicuous 
place  upon  the  roll  of  the  nation's  illustrious  dead — among 
those  whom  the  world  delights  and  will  continue  to  honor. 


28        Life  and  Character  of  Charles  Frederick  Crisp. 


ADDRESS  OF  MR.  RICHARDSON. 

"Mr.  RICHARDSON.  Mr.  Speaker,  on  the  first  Monday  of 
December,  1883,  as  a  member  of  the  Forty-eighth  Con 
gress,  CHARLES  FREDERICK  CRISP  took  his  seat  in  this 
House.  I  did  not  know  him  until  the  beginning  of  the 
Forty-ninth  Congress,  the  first  to  which  I  was  elected. 
Very  early  after  the  organization  of  the  Forty-ninth  Con 
gress  I  was  assigned  to  membership  on  the  Committee  on 
Pacific  Railroads,  of  which  he  was  also  a  member.  In 
the  arrangement  of  seats  at  the  table  of  that  committee  I 
was  placed  by  his  side,  and  in  this  way  first  made  his 
acquaintance.  I  was  a  new  member,  and  although  he  had 
had  then  but  one  term,  I  found  he  was  entirely  familiar 
with  all  questions  before  the  committee,  and  that  its  able 
and  efficient  chairman,  Hon.  J.  W.  Throckmorton,  of 
Texas,  and  the  entire  committee  trusted  implicitly  his 
opinions  and  his  judgment. 

The  acquaintance  thus  formed  between  us  grew  into  per 
fect  friendship.  There  was  never  an  incident  of  any  kind 
or  character  from  the  date  of  our  first  meeting,  through  all 
the  long  years  we  served  together  in  this  House,  that 
marred  that  friendship.  It  remained  unbroken  to  his 
death.  The  reflection  that  throughout  all  his  services  here 
I  had  his  esteem,  his  respect,  and  his  friendship  is  a  source 
of  supreme  satisfaction  to  me. 

As  a  younger  member  of  the  House  in  service  he  always 
gave  me  his  encouragement;  as  a  coworker  in  committee 
he  gave  me  his  assistance;  and  finally,  when  he  came  to 
the  highest  position  in  the  gift  of  this  body,  I  rejoice 
to  know  I  enjoyed  his  confidence  and  support.  Each  time 


Address  of  Mr.  Richardson.  29 

when  he  sought  the  Speakership  it  was  my  pleasure  to  cast 
my  vote  for  him;  and  on  the  occasion  of  his  last  nomina 
tion  to  that  elevated  station  I  had  the  honor  (which  I 
regarded  a  high  one)  by  his  request  to  formally  present  his 
name.  On  that  occasion,  among  other  things,  I  said: 

The  very  pleasant  task  has  been  given  me  of  placing  in  nom 
ination  for  Speaker  of  the  House  in  the  Fifty-fourth  Congress 
a  gentleman  who  is  my  warm  personal  and  political  friend.  It 
goes  without  saying  that  this  gentleman  has  already  been 
named  for  the  position  in  the  hearts  of  all  of  us  here  assem 
bled,  and  it  only  remains  for  the  formal  words  to  be  spoken. 
When  the  Fifty-second  Congress  was  about  to  assemble,  just 
four  years  ago  now,  there  appeared  in  this  Chamber  240  of  the 
chosen  representatives  of  a  hopeful  and  triumphant  Democracy. 
Then  it  was,  after  a  sharp  and  brilliant  contest,  the  gentleman 
I  am  to  name  was  placed  in  the  Speaker's  chair.  Two  years 
later,  when  about  215  members  of  our  party  met  here  for  a 
similar  purpose,  with  the  experience  of  a  past  Congress  to 
guide  us,  with  full  knowledge  of  his  honesty,  capacity,  and 
ability,  he  was  by  unanimous  action  and  with  hearty  acclama 
tion  again  chosen  our  leader.  We  come  now  a  small  band  of 
patriots,  so  far  as  numbers  are  concerned,  to  say  again  he  is  our 
choice  for  this  responsible  office,  but  we  recognize  the  fact  that 
this  time  our  declaration  is  impotent. 

The  roll  was  called,  and  he  was  unanimously  chosen  as 
our  nominee. 

It  will  not  be  expected  of  me  on  this  occasion  to  enter 
into  an  account  in  detail  of  his  long  and  useful  career  as  a 
member  of  this  House  and  a  citizen  of  Georgia.  This  has 
been  done  to-day  by  others  of  this  body  by  whom  these 
things  are  said  more  appropriately  than  by  myself.  I  shall 
content  myself  with  speaking  of  him  in  a  more  general 
way. 

The  effort  on  my  part  to  fully  describe  the  loss  the 
country,  and  more  particularly  the  Democratic  party, 


30        Life  and  Character  of  Charles  Frederick  Crisp. 

sustains  by  his  untimely  death  would  be  a  failure.  There 
is  no  man  in  public  life  to-day  who  could  not  better  be 
spared  than  Mr.  CRISP.  His  place  may  be  taken,  but  it 
can  not  be  filled  by  any  other  Representative. 

He  enjoyed  to  the  fullest  capacity  the  confidence  of  his 
party  not  only  on  this  floor,  but  throughout  the  Union. 
Those  who  differed  with  him  here  and  elsewhere  enter 
tained  for  him  marked  respect.  His  powers  in  debate 
were  of  the  very  highest  order,  as  all  can  testify  who  ever 
thus  met  him.  He  was  always  cool  and  clear-headed,  and 
often  quite  aggressive.  His  courage  was  unsurpassed,  as 
his  supporters  and  opponents  all  will  bear  witness.  His 
honesty  was  never  questioned.  His  conduct  was  always 
above  reproach.  Called  to  the  responsible  and  exacting 
duties  of  Speaker  of  the  House,  he  met  these  responsibil 
ities  and  duties  in  such  manner  as  to  reflect  not  only  honor 
and  credit  upon  himself  and  his  party,  but  upon  the  entire 
country.  In  the  chair  he  was  always  amiable,  yet  always 
positive.  He  was  gentle,  yet  stern  when  duty  demanded 
sternness  in  the  Speaker.  He  loved  to  do  deeds  of  kind 
ness  as  a  presiding  officer,  but  never  did  them  when  it  was 
improper  to  do  them  or  when  they  were  to  be  done  at  the 
expense  of  his  office.  He  was  gifted  in  the  statement  of 
all  questions  and  was  a  talented  parliamentarian.  He  was 
at  all  times  composed,  and  while  others  grew  excited,  his 
self-possession  was  never  for  a  moment  disturbed.  He  was 
firm  in  his  administration  of  the  affairs  of  the  House,  and 
at  times  was  quite  emphatic,  but  he  was  always  impartial, 
considerate,  and  just. 

There  are  times,  we  all  know,  in  this  body  when,  amid 
the  excitement  incident  to  debate  on  exciting  political 
questions,  when  party  feeling  is  running  high  and  bitterness 


Address  of  Mr.  Richardson.  31 

of  expression  is  freely  indulged,  to  preserve  order  and 
fair  decorum  the  occupant  of  that  chair  is  called  upon  to 
exercise  and  must,  in  his  discretion,  exercise  great  powers. 
Yet  during  all  his  experience  through  many  trying  and 
exciting  scenes  he  never  exercised  those  powers  rudely  or 
too  arbitrarily.  He  never  on  such  occasions  abused  the 
prerogatives  and  powers  of  the  Speaker  or  brought  his  high 
office  into  contempt. 

I  would  not  be  understood  as  saying  or  insinuating  that 
he  was  not  a  partisan,  or,  more  strictly  speaking,  a  party 
man.  He  was  a  strong  believer  in  the  principles  and  tenets 
of  his  party,  and  this  with  a  man  of  his  pronounced  con 
victions  and  courage  necessarily  made  him  more  or  less  a 
partisan ;  but  his  partisanship  was  never  exerted  at  the 
expense  of  his  patriotism.  Though  a  partisan,  he  was  not 
a  fanatic. 

His  experience  as  a  lawyer  and  judge  made  him  conserv 
ative  and  fair-minded.  He  never  for  one  moment  permitted 
his  partisanship  to  provoke  in  him  bitterness  of  feeling  or 
expression  or  to  render  him  uncharitable  toward  his  politi 
cal  opponents  or  those  with  whom  he  differed.  He  never 
impugned  motives  when  engaged  in  controversies  nor 
assailed  character  in  partisan  warfare. 

His  public  record  covers  a  period  when  courage,  high 
ability,  and  absolute  integrity  were  required  to  meet  grave 
and  important  exigencies.  It  is  a  proud  satisfaction  to 
know  that  his  connection  with  the  history  and  his  appear 
ance  in  all  these  exigencies  and  emergencies  were  wholly 
honorable  to  himself  and  conspicuously  serviceable  to  his 
State  and  country. 

In  unofficial  life  he  was  given  the  best  opportunity  to 
display  those  splendid  traits  of  character  which  in  him 


32        Life  and  Character  of  Charles  Frederick  Crisp. 

were  so  pronounced  and  distinguished.  I  have  said  he  was 
honorable  and  just  as  a  public  man  and  presiding  officer; 
so  he  was  sincere  and  true  as  a  private  citizen.  His  was  a 
changeless  sincerity.  He  was  never  in  disguise.  He  was 
the  soul  of  honor.  He  had  a  contempt  for  everything  low, 
mean,  or  sordid.  Highly  endowed  as  he  was  by  nature 
and  his  own  training  with  so  many  estimable  traits,  his 
influence  over  men  was  almost  without  limit. 

He  had  no  compromise  to  make  with  that  which  was 
wrong,  and  held  with  tenacity  to  that  which  he  believed 
to  be  right. 

He  was  warm-hearted,  genial,  and  social  in  his  nature. 
He  enjoyed  the  companionship  of  friends,  and  made  it  both 
pleasant  and  agreeable  for  them  to  be  with  -him.  High 
toned,  manly,  and  dignified  in  manner  and  conduct,  he 
treated  everyone,  both  high  and  low,  in  fashion  becoming 
a  gentleman,  and  expected  like  treatment  in  return. 

He  was  in  every  respect  a  most  lovable  man. 

All  who  came  in  close  acquaintance  or  contact  with  him 
became  his  friends  and  admirers.  He  was  a  genuine  type 
of  the  best  element  of  the  South.  He  was  called  before 
his  work  was  finished.  He  did  not  die  of  old  age  or  linger 
ing  delay.  ' '  His  eye  was  not  dim,  nor  his  natural  force 
abated." 

He  was  an  active  worker  until  his  life  closed.  The  full 
measure  of  his  capabilities  had  not  been  reached,  and  his 
career  was  incomplete.  He  was  full  of  ambition,  but  was 
never  sordid  and  venal.  His  ambitions  were  all  noble. 

One  of  his  highest  ambitions,  as  I  have  heard  him  say, 
was  to  represent  Georgia  in  the  United  States  Senate.  Yet 
he  was  so  self-sacrificing  to  his  conception  of  the  true  sense 
of  duty  that,  when  the  coveted  seat  was  graciously  tendered 


Address  of  Mr.  Richardson.  33 

him  by  the  governor  of  his  State,  he  declined  it,  saying  his 
first  duty  was  not  to  himself,  but  to  the  House  of  Repre 
sentatives,  which  had  honored  and  trusted  him. 

He  held  the  high  office  of  judge  before  being  elected  to 
Congress,  and  also  filled  other  positions  of  responsibility 
and  dignity  in  his  State.  In  the  late  war  between  the 
States  he  was  a  courageous  soldier.  From  his  early  man 
hood  until  death  ended  his  bright  and  enviable  career  his 
pathway  had  been  strewn  all  along  with  honors,  his  hands 
filled  with  trusts  confided  to  him  by  his  fellow-citizens, 
his  brain  continuously  occupied  in  anxious  and  arduous 
thought,  his  body  often  taxed  to  the  utmost  of  physical 
endurance,  but  his  course  had  been  steadily  and  unfalter 
ingly  upward. 

When  the  end  came,  there  was  no  stain  upon  his  name 
and  fame.  He  died  in  the  maturity  of  his  strength  and  in 
the  fullness  of  his  powers.  The  position  he  attained  in  his 
country's  pantheon  is  an  elevated  one.  His  name  will 
survive  long  in  the  history  of  his  State  and  the  country. 

A  familiar  writer  has  said,  "There  is  no  antidote  against 
the  opium  of  time,"  and  that  "gravestones  scarce  tell  the 
truth  forty  years."  It  is  vain  for  any  man  to  hope  for 
immortality  or  for  a  patent  from  oblivion,  for  there  is  noth 
ing  really  immortal  but  immortality. 

It  is  a  fact  that  only  twenty-seven  names  of  the  multi 
tude  who  lived  make  up  the  world's  history  before  the 
Flood.  The  greater  part  of  humanity  by  far  must  be  con 
tent  to  be  as  though  they  had  not  been,  and  be  found  in 
the  register  of  God  and  not  in  the  record  of  man. 

I  will  not  disparage  the  names  of  those  who  have  gone 
before  him  in  the  high  office  of  Speaker  of  this  House. 
Many  of  them  have  been  men  of  great  renown  and  adorned 

H.  Doc.  255 3 


34        Life  and  Character  of  Charles  Frederick  Crisp. 

that  exalted  station,  but  none  of  them  surpassed  him  in 
zeal  and  devotion  to  duty,  none  surpassed  him  in  patriot 
ism,  honesty,  and  courage,  and  none  exceeded  him  in 
energy  and  integrity.  The  best  that  can  be  said  of  any  of 
them  can  be  truthfully  said  of  him. 

His  splendid  and  successful  career  was  cut  off  when  he 
was  in  his  highest  usefulness,  and  all  must  realize  the 
irreparable  loss  his  State  and  the  Republic  sustained  when 
his  incomplete  life  was  terminated. 

The  story  of  his  life  illustrates  what  energy,  honesty, 
integrity,  and  devotion  to  duty  will  achieve.  That  story 
will  illumine  the  brightest  page  not  only  in  Georgia's  his 
tory,  but  that  of  our  whole  country  ;  and  his  name,  which 
passes  as  an  invaluable  heritage  to  his  grief-stricken  widow 
and  children,  will  be  preserved  and  perpetuated  in  spotless 
purity  through  a  long  hereafter. 


Address  of  Mr,  Maddox.  35 


ADDRESS  OF  MR.  MADDOX. 

Mr.  MADDOX.  Mr.  Speaker,  the  distinguished  gentlemen 
who  have  preceded  me  have  in  eloquent  and  beautiful 
language  portrayed  the  life  and  character  of  my  late  dis 
tinguished  colleague  as  a  soldier,  citizen,  husband,  father, 
lawyer,  prosecuting  officer,  judge,  member  of  Congress,  and 
Speaker  of  this  House,  and  but  little  is  left  for  me  to  say. 
But  there  are  some  thoughts  that  I  desire  to  suggest  on  this 
occasion.  What  has  already  been  said  of  his  merits,  in  my 
opinion,  has  not  been  exaggerated. 

I  first  became  acquainted  with  CHARLES  FREDERICK 
CRISP  in  Atlanta  in  1883,  when  he  was  presiding  over  a 
State  convention  for  the  purpose  of  nominating  a  governor, 
and  met  him  occasionally  until  I  became  a  member  of  the 
Fifty-third  Congress,  when  my  relations  with  him  became 
exceedingly  close,  and  I  am  proud  to  say  that  I  enjoyed  his 
confidence  to  a  larger  extent  perhaps  than  any  of  his  col 
leagues.  He  told  me  of  his  political  troubles  and  trials.  I 
knew  his  ambition  to  be  a  Senator  from  Georgia  long  before 
he  made  that  fact  known  to  the  world,  and  when  he  was 
offered  the  appointment  by  Governor  Northen,  no  one  knew 
better  than  myself  what  it  cost  him  to  lay  aside  the  goal  of 
his  ambition  to  discharge  a  patriotic  duty  that  he  owed  the 
country;  but  he  did  it  cheerfully. 

When  he  determined  to  become  a  candidate  for  Senator, 
he  departed  from  the  usual  custom  that  prevailed  in  our 
State  in  obtaining  the  voice  of  the  people.  Instead  of 
going  before  the  legislature,  he  demanded  of  the  party 
machinery  in  the  State  that  they  order  a  primary  election 


36        Life  and  Character  of  Charles  Frederick  Crisp. 

for  United  States  Senator,  and  let  every  Democrat  in 
Georgia  speak  for  himself;  and  they  did  speak,  and  from 
the  mountains  to  the  seaboard,  almost  without  a  dissenting 
voice,  he  was  chosen.  Through  his  long  term  of  service 
in  this  House  he  was  always  the  champion  of  the  people 
and  their  rights,  and  when  he  aspired  to  a  seat  in  the  Sen 
ate,  it  was  to  the  people  he  appealed  and  not  to  rings  and 
combinations.  As  high  as  he  stood  in  the  estimation  of 
the  people  of  his  State,  they  never  fully  appreciated  his 
great  ability  on  the  stump.  He  never  had  any  opposition 
that  amounted  to  anything  in  his  election  in  his  own  dis 
trict,  and,  the  State  never  being  a  doubtful  one,  therefore, 
when  the  great  political  contests  were  being  fought  through 
out  the  Union,  he  was  at  the  command  of  his  party,  and 
wherever  the  battle  raged  the  warmest  there  he  could  be 
found  at  the  front  battling  for  Democracy.  So,  when  he 
went  to  Georgia  to  discuss  the  political  issues  of  the  day 
in  joint  debate  with  his  distinguished  fellow-citizen  Hon. 
Hoke  Smith  and  was  compelled  to  discontimie  them,  some 
of  the  newspapers  were  unkind  enough  to  attribute  his  with 
drawal  to  an  inability  to  cope  with  his  distinguished  and 
able  adversary. 

Mr.  Speaker,  we  who  have  seen  him  cross  swords  with 
the  ablest  men  in  the  House  on  every  sort  of  question  that 
it  is  possible  to  conceive  of  in  a  body  like  this,  and  found 
him  to  be  the  equal  of  any  and  inferior  to  none,  and  who 
knew  of  his  great  power  and  tact  upon  the  stump  before 
the  people,  were  not  prepared  to  believe  this,  and  when  he 
returned  to  his  post  here,  I  met  him  at  his  hotel  and  found 
him  a  sick  man,  and  from  what  he  said  I  knew  that  his 
disease  was  far  more  serious  than  mere  throat  trouble.  I 
sat  beside  him  in  the  first  session  of  the  Fifty-fourth 


Address  of  Mr.  Maddox.  37 

Congress,  and  I  know  that  after  his  return  from  Georgia  he 
never  arose  to  address  the  House  but  he  complained  of  the 
great  pain  it  gave  him  to  do  so.  After  Congress  adjourned 
he  went  to  Asheville,  N.  C.,  and  spent  the  summer.  There 
his  friends  hoped  he  would  regain  his  health  at  that  famous 
resort. 

The  reports  we  had  from  him  from  time  to  time  led  his 
friends  to  believe  that  he  had  been  greatly  benefited,  and 
when  he  returned  to  Georgia  in  the  early  fall,  I,  at  the 
instance  of  the  citizens  of  Rome,  invited  him  to  address 
the  people  of  that  section  on  the  political  issues  of  the  day. 
He  accepted  the  invitation,  and  I  met  him  at  the  depot  the 
evening  before  he  was  to  speak,  and  was  astonished  to  see 
the  inroads  that  disease  had  made  upon  him  in  the  few 
months  we  had  been  separated.  But,  notwithstanding  the 
fact  that  he  was  then  at  death's  door,  he  bore  up  manfully 
and  attended  a  reception  that  was  held  in  his  honor  and  had 
a  hearty  handshake  and  smile  for  all  whom  he  met. 

He  was  to  speak  the  next  morning  at  n  o'clock.  I 
called  for  him  at  10  o'clock  and  was  admitted  to  his  room 
by  his  distinguished  son,  Charles  R.  Crisp,  and  found 
him  upon  the  bed  writhing  in  pain.  After  the  paroxysms 
had  to  some  extent  passed  off,  I  begged  him  not  to  attempt 
to  make  a  speech.  He  said  that  he  was  advertised  to  speak ; 
the  people  had  come  to  hear  him,  and  he  was  determined 
to  make  the  effort.  I  accompanied  him  to  the  opera  house 
and  introduced  him  to  the  vast  audience  that  had  assembled 
there.  He  spoke  for  one  hour  and  fifteen  minutes,  and, 
while  he  was  not  as  vigorous  as  I  had  seen  him  when 
addressing  the  people  before,  he  made  one  of  the  clearest, 
most  logical,  and  powerful  arguments  that  I  ever  heard 
from  him.  This  speech  was  published  throughout  the 


38        Life  and  Character  of  Charles  Frederick  Crisp. 

State  and  used  as  a  campaign  document.  And  yet,  while 
he  was  speaking,  I  would  not  have  been  surprised  to  have 
seen  him  fall,  and  was  expecting  it;  but  with  sheer  force  of 
will  power,  which  he  possessed  in  a  wonderful  degree,  and 
with  death  staring  him  in  the  face,  he  coolly,  deliberately, 
and  courageously  depicted  the  wrongs  of  the  present  finan 
cial  system  and  told  the  people  how  they  were  to  be  cor 
rected.  This  was  his  last  speech,  and  it  was  worthy  to  be 
his  last. 

The  people  who  heard  him  were  delighted  and  were 
looking  forward  to  the  time  when  they  could  point  to  him 
as  the  Senator  from  Georgia.  But  alas!  how  little  did 
they  know  of  the  condition  of  this  man  they  were  so  eager 
to  honor.  Mr.  Speaker,  when  he  was  leaving  Rome,  I 
begged  him  not  to  attempt  to  speak  any  more  in  the 
campaign.  He  finally  agreed  that  he  would  not,  though 
exceedingly  anxious  to  visit  several  places  in  the  State  for 
that  purpose.  My  opportunities  for  judging  this  man  were 
good.  I  had  his  confidence.  I  sat  by  him.  I  watched 
him  closely.  I  compared  him  with  all  the  distinguished 
men  that  I  knew  or  had  ever  known;  and  in  my  judgment, 
viewed  from  every  phase  of  life,  politically,  socially,  and 
otherwise,  he  was  the  peer  of  any  and  inferior  to  none. 

When  the  death  angel,  with  his  solemn  message,  invaded 
our  midst  and  summoned  from  earth  this  pure  and  spotless 
statesman,  the  nation  mourned  and  every  heart  in  Georgia 
was  saddened,  every  eye  was  dimmed  with  tears;  for  they 
realized  that  a  great  and  good  man  was  gone  and  our 
country  had  sustained  an  irreparable  loss — cut  down  in  the 
strength  and  vigor  of  his  manhood,  when  his  ability  and 
usefulness  were  recognized  all  over  the  country.  Though 
he  will  mingle  with  us  no  more,  and  we  will  miss  the 


Address  of  Mr.  Maddox.  39 

genial  smile  and  the  cordial  hand  clasp,  though  his  voice 
may  be  hushed  and  his  chair  may  be  vacant,  yet  the  spirit 
of  patriotism  and  chivalry  which  he  breathed  into  the 
hearts  of  his  countrymen  will  live  for  ages.  We  can  not 
dismiss  him  to  the  dark  chambers  of  death.  Recognizing 
his  greatness  and  goodness,  we  delight  to  do  him  honor, 
and  will  weave  bright  garlands  gathered  from  the  sweetest 
flowers  of  admiration,  friendship,  and  love,  and  tenderly 
twine  them,  a  last  sad  tribute,  around  his  memory. 


4O        Life  and  Character  of  Charles  Frederick  Crisp. 


ADDRESS  OF  MR.  MCMILLIN. 

Mr.  McMiLLiN.  Mr.  Speaker,  it  is  sad  to  have  those  at 
any  time  of  life  go  from  us  who  are  capable  of  serving  their 
country;  but  to  have  the  gifted  and  patriotic  taken  in  the 
prime  of  life,  when  ability  is  at  the  zenith,  when  the  enthu 
siasm  of  youth  is  happily  blended  with  the  discretion  of 
age,  is  the  greatest  loss  the  State  can  sustain  in  the  death 
of  the  citizen. 

Such  was  the  case  in  the  death  of  CHARLES  FREDERICK 
CRISP.  He  had  by  hard  work  and  superior  intellectuality 
fought  the  battles  of  early  life  and  won.  He  had  attained 
an  eminence  in  his  State  and  country  of  which  any  man 
might  be  justly  proud.  He  had  the  respect  and  confidence 
of  his  party  and  people  in  a  very  high  degree.  His  State 
stood  ready  to  bestow  upon  him  still  greater  honors.  His 
country  was  ready  to  applaud  and  ratify  anything  his  State 
did  in  his  honor.  A  future  full  of  brightness  and  distinc 
tion  lay  before  him  when  the  relentless  reaper  came  and 
claimed  the  harvest. 

Mr.  CRISP  was  one  of  the  young  men  of  the  South  who 
came  on  the  stage  just  in  time  to  see  his  country  rent  asun 
der  and  distracted  by  a  fierce  fratricidal  strife.  Brave  and 
enthusiastic,  he  united  his  fortunes  with  those  of  his  State 
and  section  and  risked  his  life  in  behalf  of  what  he  thought 
was  right.  The  close  of  the  war  found  him  still  a  youth, 
in  a  land  devastated  by  the  ravages  of  war,  with  its  agricul 
ture  prostrate,  its  educational  institutions  closed,  many  of 
its  young  men  buried  on  the  battlefield,  and  sorrow  and 
waste  hanging  like  a  pall  over  the  whole  land.  Such  had 


Address  of  Mr.  McMillin.  41 

been  the  ruin  around  him  that  of  the  11,000,000  people  in 
the  South  the  combined  wealth  of  7,000,000  would  prob 
ably  not  have  aggregated  half  a  million  dollars.  Ruin 
stalked  abroad  where  prosperity  had  only  a  few  years  before 
smiled  on  the  whole  land.  There  was  everything  to  dis 
courage,  there  was  everything  to  dismay. 

Such  were  the  scenes  which  surrounded  this  young  man 
on  his  return  from  the  greatest  war  of  modern  times,  and 
the  greatest  civil  war  of  history.  Like  many  other  noble 
and  strong  young  men  of  that  day  and  land,  Mr.  CRISP  saw 
these  discouraging  surroundings  without  dismay.  Instead 
of  giving  up  because  his  educational  advantages  had  been 
restricted  by  these  patriotic  duties,  he  cast  about  him  for  the 
best  means  of  restoring  his  country  to  its  former  prosperity 
and  its  prestige.  He  did  not  give  up  the  struggle  of  life 
because  the  struggle  at  arms  had  been  unsuccessful.  He 
had  confidence  in  the  strength  of  his  people,  the  resources  of 
his  land,  and  the  power  and  permanency  of  free  institutions. 

Others  who  have  preceded  me  have  given  so  minute  an 
account  of  his  action  at  that  period,  the  exertion  he  made, 
the  success  he  attained,  the  trust  reposed  in  him  by  an 
appreciating  people,  that  it  would  be  out  of  place  for  me  to 
reiterate  them;  but  it  may  be  truly  said  that  he  was  one  of 
the  hard-working  and  potent  agencies  in  reviving  the  droop 
ing  spirits  of  the  people  around  him  and  in  building  up  the 
waste  places  of  his  loved  land.  Notwithstanding  he  died 
so  young,  he  lived  to  see  the  agriculture  of  his  country  rise 
again.  He  lived  to  see  the  sails  of  commerce  whiten  the 
ocean  and  Gulf  around  him.  He  lived  to  see  his  own  State 
one  of  the  leaders  in  the  manufacture  of  the  cotton  it  pro 
duced.  He  lived  to  see  the  iron  smelted  in  the  valleys 
through  which  he  had  recently  fought  force  its  way  by  its 


42        Life  and  Character  of  Charles  Frederick  Crisp. 

superiority  or  cheapness  to  the  markets  not  only  of  this 
country,  but  many  of  the  markets  of  the  Old  World.  He 
lived  to  see  educational  institutions  spring  up  anew  where 
they  had  been  paralyzed  or  destroyed  by  war.  He  lived  to 
help  return  the  ballot  to  his  comrades  in  arms  from  whom 
it  had  been  taken,  and  he  lived  to  be  a  potent  agent  in 
resisting  Federal  interference  with  State  elections,  and 
in  taking  from  the  statute  books  the  laws  which  tended  to 
give  undue  influence  to  Federal  power  in  the  elections  of 
the  people. 

Although  Mr.  CRISP  died  so  young,  if  we  judge  his  life 
by  its  activities,  its  accomplishments,  its  successes,  we  may 
truly  say  he  had  a  long  and  eventful  public  career.  I  knew 
him  well,  having  served  with  him  during  his  whole  term  in 
Congress,  and  being  connected  with  him  in  committee  serv 
ice  at  the  time  of  his  death.  He  had  a  quick  perception,  a 
strong  understanding,  and  a  genial  disposition.  Having 
lived  in  the  same  hotel  with  him  for  a  considerable  period, 
I  knew  his  domestic  life  as  well  as  his  public.  The  same 
gentleness  in  demeanor  which  characterized  him  when  asso 
ciating  with  his  fellow-men  he  carried  to  the  family  circle 
intensified.  At  the  hearthstone,  in  the  midst  of  his  family, 
he  was  all  that  could  be  expected  of  the  husband  and  father. 
As  a  member  of  this  House,  he  was  watchful  and  pains 
taking.  As  its  Speaker,  when  presiding  over  the  House, 
he  was  courteous,  ready,  and  firm. 

Mr.  Speaker,  in  the  death  of  Mr.  CRISP  his  State  has 
lost  an  able  and  patriotic  public  servant,  and  our  institu 
tions  a  zealous  advocate  and  a  strong  defender.  To  his 
family  every  member  who  served  with  him  and  knew  him 
will  join  in  most  heartfelt  expressions  of  sympathy. 

Mr.  Speaker,  the  State  of  Kentucky,  soon  after  the  close 


Address  of  Mr.  McMillin.  43 

of  the  Mexican  war,  erected  in  the  cemetery  at  her  capital 
a  beautiful  monument  to  her  sons  who  fell  in  that  war. 
The  gifted  Theodore  O'Hara  recited  at  its  dedication  a  poem 
he  composed  for  the  purpose.  He  was  afterwards  a  comrade 
in  arms  of  Mr.  CRISP,  and  I  know  not  how  better  I  can 
express  the  feelings  of  his  associates  here  from  whom  he 
has  been  taken  than  by  quoting  the  words  of  his  comrade 
spoken  at  that  monument : 

Nor  wreck,  nor  change,  nor  winter's  blight, 

Nor  time's  remorseless  doom, 
Shall  dim  one  ray  of  holy  light 

That  gilds  your  glorious  tomb. 


44        Life  and  Character  of  Charles  Frederick  Crisp. 


ADDRESS  OF  MR.  CUMMINGS. 

Mr.  CUMMINGS.  Mr.  Speaker,  Tarquin,  tyrant  of  Rome, 
once  signified  a  desire  to  cut  off  the  heads  of  his  tallest 
nobles.  If  nobility  of  nature  had  been  the  standard,  and 
CHARLES  FREDERICK  CRISP  had  lived  under  his  dominion, 
he  would  certainly  have  been  in  danger.  Nature  had  fash 
ioned  him  with  the  greatest  care.  In  the  class  for  which 
she  had  designed  him  she  had  left  a  space  very  near  the 
head  of  the  list  wherein  he  was  to  write  his  name.  To  fit 
him  for  it,  however,  his  training  was  to  be  severe  and 
varied.  Man,  soldier,  jurist,  he  acted  his  part  well ;  but  it 
was  as  orator  and  statesman  that  he  was  to  round  up  his 
career.  The  vicissitudes  that  intervened  taught  him  endur 
ance,  faith,  hope,  and  constancy,  so  that  when  he  Arrived 
at  his  destined  service  he  was  fitted  for  the  tremendous 
encounters  he  was  to  endure. 

He  entered  the  lists  with  extreme  modesty.  His  voice 
was  low  and  soft,  his  demeanor  graceful,  his  manner  unob 
trusive.  He  knelt  at  the  shrine  of  the  people,  and  rose 
knighted,  the  defender  of  their  rights — a  new  champion 
in  the  lists.  Among  the  throng  he  was  hardly  noticed, 
but  he  placed  himself  in  front  of  his  charge.  When  the 
poachers  of  power  threatened  his  preserves,  he  started  up — 

Not  like  the  fox  that  shuns  the  snare, 
But  lion  of  the  hunt  aware. 

In  the  gi  apples  that  ensued  he  first  leveled  the  approaches, 
that  the  contest  might  be  fair.  Then  he  stormed  the  cit 
adel  his  adversary  had  set  up.  With  herculean  power 
and  unyielding  constancy  he  made  every  crevice  feel  his 


Address  of  Mr.  Cummings.  45 

incisive  assaults,  and  every  salient  the  unabated  force  of  his 
well-trained  battery.  When  demolition  ensued  and  all  was 
over,  he  made  the  ruin  effulgent  with  instructive  lessons. 

I  might  here  close  this  sketch,  satisfied  that  I  had  given 
an  outline  of  the  characteristics  of  this  noble  man,  but 
he  was  my  friend,  at  times  my  leader,  always  my  instructor, 
and  I  feel  it  a  duty  on  this  occasion  to  fill  it  up  with  such 
observations  on  his  career  as  my  knowledge  affords. 

I  shall  speak  of  him  with  something  of  the  suppressed 
emotion  with  which  Antony  struggled  over  the  dead  body 
of  Caesar,  though  in  their  lives  there  was  little  analogous, 
and  in  their  death  nothing  whatever.  Neither  have  I  any 
motive,  as  the  Roman  had,  for  playing  the  cunning  orator. 
To  those  who  were  here  with  him  I  need  not  say  that  his 
conduct  was  most  noble  under  all  circumstances  ;  to  those 
who  were  not  here,  I  will  say  they  have  missed  an  exemplar 
whom  they  could  have  studied  with  advantage.  Questions 
of  tremendous  import,  of  vast  national  importance,  shook 
this  Hall  during  his  membership.  Call  to  mind  the  great 
struggle  over  the  force  bill ;  the  lesser  one  over  the  McKin- 
ley  bill.  The  first  he  opposed  because  he  believed  it  a 
blow  at  the  attributes  of  citizenship,  sapping  the  founda 
tions  of  our  polity;  the  second  because  he  deemed  it  the 
vicious  outgrowth  of  a  false  political  economy.  All  that 
party  zeal,  great  research,  and  eminent  ability  could  com 
mand  clashed  in  these  combats.  At  times  the  House 
swayed  and  tossed  like  a  forest  heaving  to  a  tempest. 
When  the  storm  had  swept  by  and  decorum  had  returned, 
such  is  the  tenacity  of  party  ties  that  alignments  were 
found  to  be  hardly  affected. 

How  often,  amid  the  wildest  commotion,  have  I  seen 
Mr.  CRISP  ride  calm,  dignified,  and  graceful,  confident  in 


46        Life  and  Character  of  Charles  Frederick  Crisp. 

the  justice  of  his  cause,  spurred  on  by  duty,  and  by  his 
almost  faultless  diction,  his  earnest  manner,  and  his  all- 
sweeping  logic  soothe  the  struggling  elements.  Members 
might  not  agree  with  him,  but  they  would  listen.  There 
was  no  malignity  in  him,  nor  even  asperity.  From  his 
well-filled  quiver  he  drew  no  poisoned  arrow,  for  he  knew 
that  passion  and  judgment  could  have  little  fellowship, 
and  he  was  earnest  to  convince. 

His  oratory  was  not  overvehement.  It  flowed  with  regi 
mental  precision,  close-ranked,  animated,  and  confident. 
His  bearing  was  always  superb.  I  never  knew  him  halt 
for  a  word  or  at  fault  for  an  illustration.  When  the  situa 
tion  warranted,  he  would  light  up  the  House  with  the  live 
liest  display  of  humor.  In  attributes,  in  political  tenets, 
and  in  his  manner  of  illustration,  he  might  not  inaptly 
be  called  the  John  Bright  of  the  American  Commons. 

His  bouts  with  our  distinguished  Speaker,  eminent  for 
his  talents  and  his  audacity,  were  of  thrilling  interest. 

Flashes  of  lightning  and  mutterings  of  thunder  betokened 
the  storm.  It  was  like  those  intense  situations  we  have  so 
often  seen  upon  the  stage,  where  the  future  is  threatening 
and  the  outcome  dubious.  It  was  not  in  the  nature  of 
either  to  give  an  inch  of  ground.  When  they  had  thus 
met  in  full  career,  and  the  strength  and  mettle  of  each 
had  fully  proved  themselves  on  the  other,  they  generally 
unlocked,  if  I  may  so  express  it,  with  something  like  defi 
ant  courtesy.  Each  had  triumphed  over  the  other  for  the 
Speakership  ;  each  could  generously  and  truthfully  say  of 
the  other  :  "Great  let  us  call  him,  for  he  conquered  me." 

Many  of  us  remember  Mr.  CRISP'S  contest  for  the  Speak 
ership.  It  was  his  ambition  to  preside  over  the  House,  of 
which  he  was  so  devoted  a  member.  His  party  dominated 


Address  of  Mr.  Cummings.  47 

by  an  immense  majority,  and  were  privileged  to  caucus  for 
the  prize.  The  contest  was  intense  enough  to  unsettle 
nerves  not  proof  against  disturbance.  From  first  to  last 
he  was  threatened  with  defeat.  Yet  no  ripple  was  observ 
able  in  his  even  and  well -sustained  deportment.  When 
proclaimed  victor,  he  received  the  honor  with  thanks, 
emphasizing  that  he  was  conscious  of  the  responsibility  it 
imposed  and  modestly  showing  he  was  confident  he  could 
meet  its  claims.  His  address  on  taking  the  gavel  was 
a  model  of  brevity  and  almost  touching  in  simplicity. 
Here  it  is  : 

GENTLEMEN  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES:  For 
the  great  honor  you  have  conferred  upon  me  I  return  you 
heartfelt  thanks. 

I  shall  endeavor  to  discharge  the  duties  of  the  office  of 
Speaker  with  courtesy,  with  firmness,  and  with  absolute  impar 
tiality.  Let  us  unite  in  the  hope  that  our  labors  here  may 
result  in  the  advancement  of  the  prosperity,  the  honor,  and 
the  glory  of  our  beloved  country. 

The  words  "our  beloved  country"  flowed  into  the  speech 
with  as  sweet  a  cadence  as  ever  sprang  from  human  heart 
and  fell  from  human  lips.  By  unanimous  vote  the  House 
afterwards  signified  that  he  had  fulfilled  his  highest 
promise. 

It  was  during  his  Speakership  that  his  constancy  was 
severely  tried.  His  highest  ambition  was  to  be  a  Senator 
of  the  United  States;  but  he  desired  to  win  the  honor  by 
services  faithfully  rendered  to  his  State  and  people.  A 
vacancy  in  the  Senatorship  occurred.  The  governor  of 
Georgia  tendered  it  to  him.  He  had  but  to  accept  it  and 
walk  into  the  other  house.  He  put  it  instantly  aside  to 
serve  out  the  term  for  which  he  had  been  chosen.  Duty 


48        Life  and  Character  of  Charles  Frederick  Crisp. 

chained  him  to  the  House,  and  that  was  a  chain  at  which 
he  never  strained.  In  such  estimation  was  he  held  by  the 
people  of  his  State  that  on  the  first  occasion  that  offered 
itself  they  overwhelmingly  designated  him  for  the  high 
position  he  had  declined. 

Such,  Mr.  Speaker,  was  your  predecessor  as  I  saw  him 
and  knew  him  in  this  House  for  many  years.  But  there 
was  a  softer  and  far  more  tender  shade  to  his  character.  It 
was  his  love  for  his  home  and  family.  I  saw  him  and 
knew  him  in  his  typical  Georgia  home.  I  have  conversed 
with  him  for  hours  while  the  mocking  birds  flooded  the  air 
with  music  and  the  sweet  perfume  of  the  cape  jessamine 
was  wafted  to  the  porch.  I  have  marked  his  devotion  to 
an  invalid  wife,  his  tender  affection  for  his  children,  and 
his  generous  care  of  old  and  tried  servants  emancipated  in 
the  war.  I  have  sat  at  his  table.  Morning,  noon,  and 
night  have  I  seen  him  bow  his  head  and  heard  him  ask 
God's  blessing  upon  the  food  spread  before  him  and  his. 
It  was  a  family  united  in  love  and  affection — one  in  which 
the  good  old  Southern  term  of  endearment,  "honey,"  was 
not  forgotten.  The  children  honored  the  father  and  the 
mother,  and  the  parents  honored  the  children.  When  the 
funeral  procession  passed  the  house,  the  words  "His  old 
home  ' '  were  affixed  in  flowers  above  the  gate.  They  had 
been  placed  there  by  his  neighbors.  It  was  thus  he  passed 
to  a  new  home  in  the  hereafter. 

But  his  brilliant  attributes  will  remain  a  resplendent 
memory,  and  when  bereft  of  all  human  vanity,  as  I  hope 
we  may  be,  many  of  us,  I  am  sure,  as  years  go  by,  will 
declare  with  wholesome  pride,  "I  was  a  member  when  Mr. 
CRISP  was  Speaker." 


Address  of  Air.  Hermann.  49 


ADDRESS  OF  MR.  HERMANN. 

Mr.  HERMANN.  Mr.  Speaker,  it  is  related  of  a  great  his 
toric  character  whose  portrait  was  being  painted  that  when 
the  artist  suggested  he  would  eliminate  from  the  picture  a 
mole  upon  the  face,  the  great  man  answered,  "No;  paint 
me  as  I  am."  Could  the  wish  of  our  departed  friend  be 
known,  it  would  be  that  his  life,  like  the  face  of  the  por 
trait,  should  be  represented  just  as  it  was.  And  well  he 
could  afford  this  wish.  Sir,  for  nearly  twelve  years  it  was 
my  privilege  to  be  associated  with  CHARLES  FREDERICK 
CRISP  as  a  member  of  this  Congress,  and  though  differing 
with  him  on  political  lines,  I  esteem  it  a  high  privilege  to 
unite  with  other  associates  in  expressing  this  my  tribute  of 
respect,  of  love,  and  admiration  for  the  life  and  character 
of  this  distinguished  statesman.  I  speak  of  him  as  I  always 
found  him. 

It  seems  but  yesterday  that  we  beheld  in  yonder  chair 
the  genial  face  and  well-remembered  form  of  him  whose 
eulogy  we  now  speak.  Whether  as  the  presiding  officer 
of  this  House  or  as  the  unassuming  and  always  courteous 
member  on  the  floor,  his  presence  was  such  as  to  invite 
the  most  kindly  attention  from  his  associates  as  well  as 
from  the  onlookers  in  the  gallery.  Though  one  of  the 
most  devoted  to  any  task  undertaken  by  him,  yet  in  the 
performance  of  that  duty  there  was  always  shown  a  ready 
willingness  to  suffer  interruption  and  with  patience  to 
answer  either  friend  or  opponent,  and  with  equanimity  to 
continue.  A  remarkable  trait  possessed  by  ex-Speaker 
CRISP  was  in  his  complete  self-government.  In  all  the 

debates  in  which  he  participated — and  it  was  his  lot  while 
H.  Doc.  255 4 


50        Life  and  Character  of  Charles  Frederick  Crisp. 

a  member  to  participate  in  some  of  the  most  exciting  con 
troversies  known  to  our  annals — lie  maintained  a  manly 
self-possession,  a  placid,  undisturbed,  and  unruffled  temper, 
and  a  hold  on  his  subject  which  eminently  fitted  him  to 
occupy  the  trying  position  of  leader  of  his  party.  It  must 
have  been  a  pleasure  and  a  pride  among  his  partisans  to 
follow  such  a  leader.  There  was  an  absence  of  egotism,  of 
arrogance,  of  captiousness,  of  hauteur  in  his  character.  To 
the  young  members,  more  than  all,  will  his  memory  in  this 
respect  be  cherished. 

The  leader  of  a  party  in  this  House  can,  if  his  self-will  so 
ordains,  discourage  and  permanently  impair  the  future  of 
many  a  young  member,  while  he  can  also  encourage,  aid, 
and  incite  him  to  his  best  efforts.  Nothing  so  delighted 
Mr.  CRISP  as  to  rescue,  by  kindly  suggestion  or  active  aid, 
the  embarrassed  young  member  floundering  in  some  trying 
debate  or  entangled  in  the  parliamentary  procedure  of  the 
House.  Never  was  there  a  member  of  this  body  more 
approachable,  more  seemingly  unconscious  of  high  honors, 
and  yet  more  dignified  and  more  in  place  than  he.  The 
best  test  of  his  splendid  character,  however,  was  that  which 
he  soon  developed  in  the  Speaker's  chair.  In  this  exalted 
place  the  occupant  too  often  abandons  his  previous  cordial 
mannerism  and  at  once  assumes  an  air  of  austerity  and  lofty 
elevation  above  his  fellows  not  justified  by  the  dignity  and 
authority  of  any  office  in  this  our  republican  form  of  gov 
ernment.  With  Speaker  CRISP  there  was  still  retained  the 
genial,  lovable  qualities  which  ever  distinguished  him 
before.  He  had  grown  no  greater;  his  associates  had  grown 
no  less.  And  yet  he  was  the  able,  dignified,  respected 
Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives. 

To  the  innumerable  demands  upon  him  for  recognition  he 
was  courteous  and  patient — willing  to  hear  the  merits  of  the 


Address  of  Mr,  Hermann.  51 

measure  submitted,  and  then  either  granting,  considering, 
or  regretfully  declining.  Whatever  was  the  answer,  the 
member  was  made  to  feel  that  consideration  was  accorded 
him.  His  appeal  had  been  kindly,  respectfully  heard.  He 
could  not  complain.  So  sensitive  was  he  to  the  feelings  of 
his  fellows,  that  never  did  he  refuse  a  request  that  he  did 
not  suffer  moie  pain  than  did  the  one  denied.  He  never  lost 
his  control  when  Speaker.  We  all  recall  his  superb  bearing 
when  presiding  over  the  House  when  often  wrought  up  to 
intense  excitement  over  some  political  debate.  It  would 
seem  as  if  the  angry  passions,  the  personal  taunts,  the  crimi 
nations  and  recriminations  on  the  floor,  even  to  the  extent 
of  harsh  reflection,  fiery  invective,  and  individual  criticism 
hurled  at  the  Speaker  himself,  would  so  unnerve  and  dis 
turb  him  as  to  prompt  retaliation  upon  his  tormentors. 
Speaker  CRISP  rose  grandly  above  this  temptation.  With  a 
cool  head  and  a  firm  gavel  he  ruled  the  storm  and  mastered 
it.  When  order  was  restored  and  the  membership  was  again 
tranquil  and  the  hot  heads  were  cooling,  not  the  slightest 
indication  could  be  discerned  in  the  face  of  the  Speaker 
of  the  siege  he  had  just  passed  through.  He  exemplified 
in  the  most  practical  manner  and  under  the  most  trying 
circumstances  the  Scriptural  injunction:  "Let  every  man 
be  swift  to  hear,  slow  to  speak,  slow  to  wrath." 

And  when  at  last  in  the  revolution  of  parties  another 
succeeded  him  in  the  chair,  again  he  returned  to  the  mem 
bership  on  the  floor  and  resumed  his  duties  as  a  Represent 
ative;  he  was  still  the  same  generous-hearted,  considerate, 
self-sacrificing  friend,  associate,  and  member  as  he  ever  was. 

With  all  the  angry  contentions  which  history  will  note 
as  a  part  of  his  administration  of  this  House,  and  which 
are  still  in  vivid  recollection,  it  is  a  refreshing  boast,  and 
confers  imperishable  luster  upon  his  good  name,  that  he 


52        Life  and  Character  of  Charles  Frederick  Crisp. 

exercised  his  powers  as  a  Speaker  in  a  fair  and  impartial 
manner  as  between  the  great  parties  on  the  floor,  and  that  no 
stamp  or  stain  suggestive  of  disrepute  rests  upon  any  public 
or  private  act  during  his  long  service  as  the  trusted  and 
distinguished  representative  of  the  people  of  his  State. 

Like  the  spire  on  some  lofty  cathedral  seen  at  close  view, 
when  neither  its  true  height  nor  its  majestic  proportions 
can  be  accurately  measured,  so  is  ex-Speaker  CRISP,  in 
according  to  him  his  just  place  in  history  in  so  brief  a 
period  after  his  death.  His  splendid  life  work  will  shine 
forth  in  even  greater  luster  as  time  goes  on,  for  then  the 
mists  which  more  or  less  obscure  every  active,  ambitious 
genius,  surrounded  by  enmities  and  personal  antagonisms, 
will  have  faded  away,  and  exposed  to  view  the  intrinsic 
worth  and  the  perfect  symmetry,  the  strength  and  beauty 
of  this  well-balanced  life. 

The  light  of  our  friend  was  extinguished  while  it  was 
yet  day — yea,  at  high  noon.  He  was  still  in  the  midst  of 
his  usefulness,  and  no  premonition  pointed  out  the  untimely 
end.  The  summons  came,  and  the  work  was  done.  It  is 
difficult  to  realize  that  this  is  true.  Do  we  comprehend 
the  uncertainty  of  life?  Is  it  so  frail  ?  We  hear  the  answer 
in  the  expiring  breath  and  see  it  in  the  open  grave.  It 
leaves  an  admonition  to  us  all:  "Do  thy  work  to-day;  for 
thee  there  may  be  no  to-morrow."  May  we  not  hope  that 
if  not  here  there  may  be  that  to-morrow  in  the  celestial 
realms,  "in  that  temple  not  made  with  hands,  eternal  in 
the  heavens?" 

Mr.  Speaker,  with  these  poor  words  in  testimony  of  my 
high  esteem  for  our  departed  associate,  and  in  grateful 
remembrance  of  his  noble,  generous  nature,  I  tenderly  lay 
my  sprig  of  acacia  upon  his  honored  grave. 


Address  of  Mr.  Ding  ley.  53 


ADDRESS  OF  MR.  DINGLEY. 

Mr.  DINGLEY.  Mr.  Speaker,  I  made  the  acquaintance 
of  CHARLES  FREDERICK  CRISP  soon  after  he  entered  the 
Forty-eighth  Congress  as  a  Representative  from  Georgia. 
That  acquaintance  ripened  into  an  intimate  friendship, 
which  continued  till  death  removed  him  from  the  House 
of  Representatives  during  the  interval  between  the  close 
of  the  first  and  the  opening  of  the  second  session  of  the 
present  Congress. 

Notwithstanding  our  divergent  political  views  often 
brought  us  into  antagonism  in  debate,  yet  on  all  occasions 
he  bore  himself  with  such  courtesy  and  kindliness  of  spirit, 
as  well  as  ability  and  elevation  of  tone,  that  my  respect  for 
him  personally  and  my  admiration  of  his  ability  were 
increased.  During  my  long  service  with  Mr.  CRISP,  in 
which  we  were  frequently  on  opposite  sides  of  important 
and  exciting  political  questions,  nothing  ever  occurred 
to  mar  in  the  slightest  degree  our  warm  friendship  and 
mutual  regard. 

For  some  time  after  entering  Congress  Mr.  CRISP  mod 
estly  refrained  from  active  participation  in  the  business  and 
debates  of  the  House,  realizing  as  he  did  the  importance 
of  familiarizing  himself  first  with  the  rules  and  methods  of 
the  House,  so  dissimilar  in  many  respects  from  the  practice 
of  all  of  our  State  legislative  bodies.  Unlike  many  other 
parliamentary  bodies,  the  House,  partly  from  the  necessity 
which  exists  in  an  assembly  of  so  large  a  membership  and 
partly  because  of  its  rapidly  changing  elements,  pays  little 
regard  to  courtesy  in  the  conduct  of  its  business,  and  grants 


54        Life  and  Character  of  Charles  Frederick  Crisp. 

very  little  to  any  member  beyond  what  he  is  entitled  to 
under  its  rules  and  practice. 

I  well    remember   the  first  time  that  Mr.   CRISP  forged 

o 

to  the  front  and  demonstrated  not  only  his  ability  as  a 
legislator,  but  also  his  skill  as  a  parliamentarian.  It  was 
on  the  occasion  of  the  consideration  and  passage  of  the 
interstate-commerce  bill,  when  the  enforced  absence  of 
Judge  Reagan,  the  chairman  of  the  committee  having  that 
subject  in  charge,  threw  upon  Mr.  CRISP  the  responsibility 
of  defending  and  guiding  that  important  measure  through 
the  House  in  the  face  of  a  well-organized  and  determined 
opposition.  This  duty  he  performed  with  an  ability,  skill, 
and  success  which  at  once  placed  him  among  the  leading 
members  of  the  House — a  rank  which  he  subsequently 
maintained  without  difficulty. 

When  the  Democratic  party  came  into  control  of  the 
House  at  the  opening  of  the  Fifty-second  Congress,  it  was 
natural  that  Mr.  CRISP'S  name  should  have  been  promi 
nently  mentioned  for  the  Speakership,  especially  in  view  of 
the  fact  that  while  temporarily  occupying  the  chair  he  had 
shown  himself  to  be  an  expert  parliamentarian  and  a  suc 
cessful  presiding  officer.  But  his  nomination  over  older 
associates  of  larger  experience  and  greater  prestige  was  a 
recognition  of  his  fitness  for  the  high  office  of  Speaker, 
which  was  shown  to  be  well  deserved.  The  ability  and 
fairness  with  which  he  discharged  the  duties  of  this  impor 
tant  and  difficult  position  entitle  Mr.  CRISP  to  a  high 
place  among  those  great  statesmen  who  have  graced  this 
high  office,  second  only  to  the  Presidency  itself. 

Mr.  CRISP'S  mind  was  eminently  logical  and  judicial. 
The  possession  of  such  a  mind  is  absolutely  essential  to 
real  success  and  usefulness  in  public  service.  In  high 


Address  of  Mr.  Dingley.  55 

public  position  men  ruled  by  sentiment,  who  possess  little 
logical  power,  little  capacity  to  accurately  weigh  all  sides 
of  important  questions,  and  especially  to  distinguish  effects 
from  causes,  are  always  dangerous  leaders,  however  sincere. 
Indeed,  their  power  for  mischief  is  only  augmented  by 
the  earnestness  which  is  sometimes  born  of  inability  to 
judicially  weigh  consequences.  Mr.  CRISP'S  mind  was  so 
logical  and  judicial  that  he  could  see  all  around  a  ques 
tion  and  avoid  the  errors  and  dangers  of  surface  thinking. 

Mr.  CRISP'S  position  in  the  House  was  reached  as  much 
through  his  industry  as  through  his  ability.  Indeed,  no 
one  achieves  eminence  either  in  public  or  private  life  except 
by  persistent  and  well-directed  work.  There  is  no  royal 
road  to  real  and  permanent  success  here  or  elsewhere.  One 
who  has  carefully  and  thoroughly  prepared  himself  to  meet 
responsibilities  is  sooner  or  later  needed.  On  the  other 
hand,  one  who  excuses  himself  from  the  labor  required  to 
make  himself  a  master  of  his  chosen  line  of  study  will 
never  be  able  to  keep  to  the  front. 

Mr.  CRISP'S  rapid  rise  from  a  humble  condition  to  so 
high  a  position  in  the  nation  affords  another  illustration  of 
the  fact  that  in  this  land  of  the  free  merit  is  accorded 
recognition  regardless  of  station  or  wealth.  In  spite  of 
the  effort  of  narrow  minds  to  create  the  impression  that 
there  are  classes  in  this  country  who  secure  privileges 
denied  to  the  masses,  the  fact  is  that  no  class  distinctions 
exist  among  our  people,  and  that  there  is  no  distinction, 
no  honor,  no  privilege  which  is  not  equally  open  to  every 
citizen,  however  humble. 

It  is  here  in  this  Chamber,  where  Representatives  from 
each  of  the  forty-five  States  of  the  Union  meet  to  consult 
with  reference  to  the  interests  of  this  great  Republic,  that 


56        Life  and  Character  of  Charles  Frederick  Crisp. 

we  feel  as  nowhere  else  the  strength  of  the  tie  which  binds 
together  our  seventy  millions  of  people.  Differ  in  opinion 
as  we  may,  there  rises  above  those  differences  the  mutual 
regard  engendered  by  the  friendships  here  formed,  and  the 
feeling  that  we  are  fellow-citizens  of  a  common  country 
whose  interest  we  desire  to  promote,  and  the  heirs  of  a 
common  heritage  whose  priceless  blessings  we  desire  to 
defend. 

When,  therefore,  one  of  our  number  is  removed  by 
death,  especially  one  who  has  been  so  long  with  us  as  has 
Mr.  CRISP,  we  feel  the  separation  not  only  as  a  national 
loss,  but  as  a  personal  bereavement. 

What  we  call  death — the  dissolution  of  the  mysterious 
union  of  soul  and  body  which  characterizes  life  as  dis 
cerned  by  our  imperfect  natural  vision — is  always  an 
unwelcome,  although  inevitable,  visitor.  But  when  it 
comes  to  one  who,  like  Mr.  CRISP,  was  still  young  and  in 
the  height  of  his  usefulness,  the  shock  is  intensified  and 
the  grief  deepened.  Happy  is  he  who,  when  called  to 
close  his  eyes  on  the  scenes  of  earth  and  enter  upon  the 
life  beyond,  can  meet  this  summons  with  a  serene  faith  in 
Him  who  is  over  all  and  above  all,  as  we  doubt  not  was 
the  case  with  our  departed  associate  and  friend. 


Address  of  Mr.  De  Armond.  57 


ADDRESS  OF  MR.  DE  ARMOND. 

Mr.  DE  ARMOND.  Mr.  Speaker,  this  hour  is  appropriately 
devoted  to  services  in  memory  of  a  distinguished  member  of 
this  body,  lately  with  us,  now  gone  to 

The  undiscovered  country,  from  whose  bourn 
No  traveler  returns. 

His  life  has  been  gracefully  sketched  by  others  far  more 
familiar  with  it  than  I  am,  though  I  knew  him  quite  well 
from  service  with  him  in  the  House  of  Representatives.  I 
knew  him  somewhat  also  in  the  relations  of  friendship  out 
side  of  the  House.  Of  him  it  has  been  well  said,  because 
it  has  been  truthfully  said,  that  on  the  domestic  side,  as 
husband,  father,  friend,  citizen,  his  life  was  not  only  with 
out  reproach,  but  admirable. 

The  career  of  CHARLES  FREDERICK  CRISP  as  a  public  man 
has  been  ably  and  fittingly  outlined  to-day  before  this  audi 
ence  and  before  the  country.  He  himself  painted  the  pic 
ture,  and  the  lines  have  been  but  pointed  out  by  those  who 
have  just  engaged  the  attention  of  the  House.  A  poor  boy, 
he  entered  the  Southern  army  from  his  Georgia  home,  and 
performed  well  the  duties  of  a  soldier  "in  times  that  tried 
men' s  souls. ' '  Emerging  from  the  prison  where  he  had  been 
cast  by  the  fortunes  of  war,  with  but  little  preparation  except 
that  which  had  been  made  in  the  rude  school  of  the  camp,  he 
began  the  study  of  his  chosen  profession.  How  he  rose  in 
that  profession  from  the  stripling  attorney  at  the  bar  to  be 
solicitor-general,  and  soon  became  the  chief  presiding  officer 
of  the  court ;  how  by  the  suffrages  of  those  who  knew  him 
well  he  was  sent  to  this  House,  and  how  his  legislative  career, 
begun  here  and  ended  here,  is  honorable  and  illustrious — all 


58        Life  and  Character  of  Charles  Frederick  Crisp, 

this  is  known  to  his  associates  and  to  the  country  too  well 
to  need  recital  from  me. 

It  may  be  worth  while  to  inquire  in  what  lay  principally 
the  elements  of  the  eminent  Georgian's  success.  What  was 
there  about  him  that  elevated  him  above  his  fellows  in  a 
body  always  distinguished  for  having  within  it  many  men 
of  great  and  commanding  ability  ?  How  did  he  attain  and 
how  did  he  retain  leadership  unquestioned  within  and  over 
a  party  difficult  to  lead  and  ever  ready  to  throw  aside  leaders 
and  to  choose  new  ones  in  their  stead  ?  That  he  was  a  man 
of  ability  all  know.  But  he  led  able  men,  who  willingly 
followed  him.  That  he  was  a  man  of  courage  goes  without 
saying.  But  he  had  cheerful  followers  in  men  independent 
as  well  as  courageous,  because  they  felt  that  he  would 
lead  them  aright.  I  believe  that  the  one  quality  which 
contributed  mightily  in  giving  him  this  ascendency  in  the 
House — conceding  to  him  great  intellectual  endowments — 
lay  in  his  amiable  and  lovable  disposition.  He  won  power 
through  his  kindliness  and  retained  it  through  kindness, 
supplemented,  of  course,  by  tact,  ability,  and  firmness. 

His  leadership  was  not  self-imposed.  To  it  he  was  called 
voluntarily  by  his  party  associates,  because  they  believed 
he  would  lead  in  the  course  which  it  was  right  for  them  to 
take — because  it  was  not  irksome  to  follow  him — because 
his  leadership  was  so  pleasant  that  it  seemed  but  superior 
fellowship. 

Some  men  achieve  greatness  and  command  success  in 
ruling  over  other  men  by  virtue  of  intellectual  endowment 
alone  or  by  vast  will  power.  While  Mr.  CRISP  possessed 
these  great  gifts  of  nature,  he  also  possessed  that  sweet  and 
kindly  disposition  which  attracted  people  to  him,  which 
made  people  love  to  be  associated  with  him,  and  which 
preserved  his  sway  over  the  minority,  as  it  is  now — over 


Address  of  Mr.  De  Armond.  59 

the  majority  as  it  was  for  a  time — as  perhaps  the  sway  of  no 
other  man  of  his  party  will  be  established  or  maintained  in 
this  House  in  many  a  day  to  come.  He  has  gone;  gone  to 
return  to  these  Halls  no  more.  I  can  not  add  to  his  fame, 
nor  could  I  detract  from  it.  His  life  work  is  known;  it  is 
approved  by  those  who  knew  it  best.  His  career  was  indeed 
a  remarkable  one;  and  if  he  had  not  died  in  his  prime,  there 
is  no  guessing  how  many  new  triumphs  of  statesmanship 
might  be  placed  to  his  credit. 

What  a  proud  thing  it  is,  Mr.  Speaker,  for  a  man  starting 
poor  and  working  his  way  without  extraneous  aid  to  rise 
by  the  power  of  his  own  personality,  by  his  intellect  and 
lovable  qualities,  to  the  high  position  which  Mr.  CRISP 
reached,  and  which  you,  too,  twice  gained;  an  official  posi 
tion  second  only  to  one  other  in  the  world;  a  place  which, 
well  filled — filled  by  intellect,  courage,  courtesy,  kindness, 
impartiality — is  often  in  a  lifetime  even  higher  than  any 
official  station  not  occupied  by  a  man  possessing  the  same 
estimable  qualities  of  the  head  and  of  the  heart.  Then, 
true  indeed  it  is  that  Mr.  CRISP'S  was  a  life  upon  whose 
bright,  clean,  glorious  story  we  may  dwell  with  profit  to 
ourselves  and  to  those  who  are  to  come  after  us. 

Leadership  is  not  necessarily  sought  or  coveted.  It  is 
generally  born  in  the  man.  Sometimes  it  is  acquired  by  a 
man's  own  zeal,  and  sometimes  it  is  thrust  upon  a  man. 
However,  men  of  superior  ability  naturally  aspire  to  leader 
ship;  not  a  few  attain  it  without  real  merit.  But  those  who, 
because  of  qualities  inherent  in  themselves,  retain  leader 
ship  over  followers  possessed  of  the  power  to  depose  them— 
these  few  are  men  born  to  lead,  as  others  are  born  to  follow. 

Perhaps  the  proudest  tribute  to  the  memory  of  ,the 
departed  statesman  whose  death  we  mourn  is  that  he 
retained  his  ascendency  over  men  not  so  much  by  virtue 


6o        Life  and  Character  of  Charles  Frederick  Crisp. 

of  special  effort  as  through  the  warm  feeling,  akin  to  affec 
tion,  which  his  sunny  disposition  and  native  kindliness 
awakened  in  his  associates,  so  that  they  felt  themselves 
honored  in  honoring  him. 

The  loss  to  Speaker  CRISP'S  party  and  to  his  country  is 
almost  irreparable.  While  we  of  the  minority  have  many 
able  and  strong  men  among  us,  yet  attention  does  not  turn 
to  anyone  in  particular  as  being  peculiarly  fitted,  as  he  was, 
for  the  post  of  leader.  At  least,  no  one  stands  out,  to  the 
exclusion  of  the  others,  like  Mr.  CRISP  did,  as  the  proper 
leader  here  of  the  forces  of  the  Democracy. 

I  esteem  it  a  privilege,  Mr.  Speaker,  that,  as  a  member  of 
this  body,  I  have  beheld  two  great  parliamentary  leaders, 
one  upon  either  side  of  the  Chamber,  each  superb  in  his  own 
way,  marshal  their  respective  forces,  now  for  attack,  now 
for  defense.  I  do  not  expect  again  in  life,  though  my  years 
be  prolonged  to  great  length,  to  find  their  equals  in  ability 
to  lead  and  govern  their  fellow-partisans  in  parliamentary 
warfare.  But  could  either  have  led  so  successfully  the 
forces  which  followed  the  other? 

Often  we  think  and  say  that  those  who  die  in  their  prime 
are  taken  prematurely.  Of  course,  to  family  and  friends, 
to  love  and  hope  and  pride,  the  shock  comes  most  rudely 
when  the  blast  of  death  has  blown  where,  it  would  seem, 
the  blush  of  life  ought  to  continue.  But,  after  all,  when 
you  consider  the  fame  in  years  to  come  of  a  man  whose  life 
is  full  of  good  deeds  and  grand  achievements,  as  was  Mr. 
CRISP'S — looked  at  in  the  light  of  history — is  it  an  unmixed 
misfortune  in  the  annals  of  the  world  that  such  a  one  goes 
down  when  the  sun  is  at  high  noon,  instead  of  lingering  on 
the  stage  of  action,  often  superfluous,  until  the  long  and  ever- 
lengthening  shadows  from  the  west  are  falling  upon  him? 


Address  of  Mr.  De  Arniond.  61 

Yet  there  is  no  doubt  that  if  Mr.  CRISP  had  been  spared 
he  would  long  have  been  one  of  the  greatest  members  of 
the  Senate,  whose  doors  were  open  for  him  to  enter;  no 
doubt  that  had  he  lived  he  would  have  gone  from  honor  to 
honor;  no  doubt  that  his  fame  and  usefulness  would  have 
grown  and  expanded,  no  matter  how  rich  the  honors  and 
deeds  to  his  credit  when  the  dread  destroyer  overtook 
him. 

His  career  is  hardly  matched  in  the  legislative  history  of 
the  country.  At  least  there  are  few  to  lay  side  by  side  with 
it;  and  with  his  honors  full  upon  him,  in  the  full  possession 
of  his  magnificent  abilities,  surrounded  by  his  beloved 
family  and  cherished  friends,  his  warm  heart  ceased  to  beat 
and  his  great  intellect  was  transferred  to  another  scene  of 
action.  Long  will  his  memory  live  in  the  hearts  and  in  the 
minds  of  all  who  knew  him.  Long  will  his  services  to  his 
country  be  remembered  gratefully  by  those  who  justly 
appreciate  them,  kindly  even  by  those  who  believe  he  was 
wrong  politically,  because,  above  all  things,  he  was  an 
amiable  man  in  high  station,  who  as  nearly  avoided  the 
giving  of  offense  to  any,  and  as  uniformly  treated  all  with 
consideration,  kindness,  and  generosity,  as  anyone  of  whom 
we  have  a  record  or  anyone  whom  we  may  ever  expect  to 
meet. 

Mr.  Speaker,  in  contemplation  of  these  sad  events,  which 
are  occurring  daily — for  death  is  almost  as  old  in  the  world 
as  life;  with  the  centuries  full  of  life  and  death,  and  death, 
like  birth,  marking  every  hour  and  every  minute  of  every 
day — we  are  brought,  over  and  over,  time  and  time  again, 
to  the  strange,  alway  sold,  and  ever  fresh  reflections  which 
will  spring  up  when  we  gaze  into  the  open  grave,  when  we 
view  the  cold  and  lifeless  clay  which  so  recently  was  the 


62         Life  and  Character  of  Charles  Frederick  Crisp. 

mortal  shelter  of  the  departed  spirit.  Filled  with  that  awe 
which  the  ages  have  not  been  able  to  banish,  which  per 
vades  generation  after  generation,  we  solemnly  ask,  Whither 
has  the  spirit  gone  that  lately  tenanted  this  clay?  What  is 
there  of  existence  beyond  this  world  ?  Or  is  this  all  ?  Is 
this  the  end?  We  can  not  see  through  the  veil  just  a  little 
way  before  us,  but  thick  enough  to  cloud  the  sight.  Faith 
and  Hope  alone  light  up  the  gulf;  alone  give  promise  for 
the  future. 

Our  friend  has  gone.  His  memory  is  with  us,  enshrined 
in  our  hearts.  By  his  example  we  hope  to  profit.  But 
again  the  query  presses  for  answer,  "  If  a  man  die,  shall  he 
live  again?"  The  abandoned  clay  is  in  the  churchyard  at 
Americus,  under  sweet  flowers,  with  the  soft  Southern  sky 
bending  over  all.  But  the  spirit !  What  of  it  ?  Is  that,  which 
was  so  much,  nothing  now — vanished,  dissolved,  annihi 
lated,  as  though  it  never  was?  Did  its  existence  terminate 
with  the  life  of  the  body?  Whatever  vainglorious  philoso 
phers  may  say,  man  rebels  at  the  suggestion  that  there  is 
nothing  beyond  the  grave.  The  hope,  sometimes  clung  to 
in  desperation,  sometimes  cherished  in  brightest  anticipa 
tion,  that  there  is  a  hereafter,  and  that  men,  though  they 
die,  yet  live  in  that  hereafter — we  will  not  give  that  up. 
No  philosophy,  even  if  ripened  in  ages  of  calm  reasoning, 
can  banish  it.  It  springs  as  an  inheritance  of  humanity, 
as  an  instinct  in  the  soul  of  every  human  being  that 
breathes.  We  believe — our  hopes,  our  affections,  all  that 
we  hold  near  and  dear  in  life,  admonish  us  to  believe,  con 
strain  us  to  believe — that  our  friend  has  not  perished,  but 
that  in  a  higher  and  nobler  sphere  this  great  intellect,  this 
tender,  loving  spirit  shall  flourish  and  expand,  and  achieve 
new  triumphs  and  perform  new  deeds  of  glory  and  of  grace 
while  countless  ages  roll  on  into  eternity. 


Address  of  Mr.  Dinsmore.  63 


ADDRESS  OF  MR.  DINSMORE. 

Mr.  DINSMORE.  Mr.  Speaker,  in  the  presence  of  gentle 
men  here  who  were  so  much  nearer  to  CHARLES  FREDERICK 
CRISP,  who  were  so  fortunate  as  to  have  a  more  extended 
acquaintance  with  him,  a  closer  relation,  a  longer  term  of 
service,  I  approach  with  diffidence  and  hesitation  the  hon 
orable  privilege  which  has  been  extended  to  me  to  speak  in 
commemoration  of  a  great  man  who  made  his  life  a  part  of 
the  illustrious  history  of  this  House.  It  is  not  for  me  to 
criticise  his  great  character.  I  leave  that  to  those  more 
capable  of  the  task.  I  only  desire,  Mr.  Speaker,  to  place 
upon  record  the  humble  tribute  of  one  who  had  an  acquaint 
ance  and  friendship  with  him  through  a  few  years,  but 
who,  during  that  whole  time,  learned  to  honor,  admire,  and 
love  him  more  and  more. 

It  is  at  all  times  a  delicate  and  a  responsible  undertaking 
to  speak  here  for  the  permanent  record  upon  the  life  and 
character  of  one  who  has  been  a  member  of  this  House. 
Men  are  too  prone  to  run  into  extravagant  expression,  to 
magnify  the  virtues  of  the  dead  as  well  as  disparage  the 
merits  of  the  living.  What  is  said  upon  these  occasions 
should  be  not  only  just  to  the  dead,  but  faithful  to  truthful 
history.  I  fain  would,  in  the  few  sentences  which  I  shall 
speak  to-day,  do  so  as  if  in  presence  of  the  conscious  spirit 
of  our  departed  friend,  knowing  that  he  would  have  me 
give  utterance  to  no  sentiment  that  is  not  justified  by  his 
own  life.  Nor  have  I  sought  for  information  upon  the 
detailed  incidents  of  his  history,  preferring  to  put  into 
words  the  impressions  that  association  with  the  man  have 
made  upon  me,  and  to  stop  there. 

Duty  does  not  demand  of  us  to  enlarge  upon  or  even  to 


64        Life  and  Character  of  Charles  Frederick  Crisp. 

refer  to  foibles  of  character;  but,  on  the  other  hand,  it  is 
required  of  us  that  in  the  things  we  say  we  shall  deal  fairly 
and  honestly  with  ourselves  and  with  the  dead.  Therefore 
I  shall  endeavor  to  restrain  my  expressions  within  the 
bounds  of  temperate  speech,  within  the  limits  which  I 
believe  would  be  indorsed  by  our  great  leader  if  he  could  be 
present  and  hear  what  is  said  of  him. 

Mr.  Speaker,  every  man's  life,  in  a  narrower  or  wider 
sense,  is  an  ideal  for  other  men.  Whether  it  be  lowly  or 
exalted,  whether  it  be  humble  or  great,  there  is  among  every 
man's  associates  some  person  who  will  look  to  him  as  an 
exemplar  of  his  own  conduct,  who  will  find  in  him  some 
thing  worthy  of  imitation;  and  it  is  pleasant  to  think  there 
are  few  men  who  do  not  thus  exercise  an  influence  for  good 
upon  mankind.  The  greatest  good  of  a  great  life  is  its 
influence  upon  society.  In  the  aspirations  of  early  youth 
the  boy  selects  some  great  character  of  history  and  tries  to 
fashion  himself  upon  that  model,  to  build  himself  up  to 
that  level.  What  a  grand  figure  have  we  here  to  inspire  the 
ambition,  the  fortitude,  the  patriotism,  and  the  integrity  of 
American  youth,  aye,  and  of  American  manhood! 

Mr.  Speaker,  I  have  had  the  honor,  in  the  short  time  I 
have  served  in  the  House,  to  be  associated  with  Mr.  CRISP 
as  Speaker  of  the  House  in  one  Congress  and  as  the  acknowl 
edged  leader  of  the  minority  in  another.  In  every  relation, 
in  every  emergency,  in  every  situation  it  has  appeared  to  me 
that  he  arose  to  the  full  stature  of  great  manhood  and  capa 
bility  of  dealing  with  the  difficult  tasks  that  confronted  him. 
As  Speaker  of  the  House,  as  leader  upon  the  floor,  as  a 
citizen  in  private  life,  he  was  always  thoughtful  and  digni 
fied,  firm  and  unyielding  in  adherence  to  principle,  and  bold 
and  fearless  in  defense  of  it,  yet  withal  kind,  gentle,  cour 
teous,  and  considerate.  As  Speaker,  he  was  easy  of  access 


Address  of  Mr.  Dinsmore.  65 

to  every  member  of  the  House,  even  though  the  humblest, 
newest,  most  obscure  member  that  had  come  into  it — easy 
of  approach,  and  always  having  words  of  encouragement 
for  those  who  sought  to  make  themselves  useful  in  the  great 
House  over  which  he  had  the  honor  to  preside. 

I  have  no  doubt  that  each  one  who  came  into  the  House 
while  he  was  Speaker  has  pleasant  memories  of  his  own 
experience  and  of  the  words  of  counsel  he  has  given,  and  we 
cherish  in  our  minds  tender  memories  never  to  be  effaced. 
He  was  gentle  as  a  woman,  simple  in  his  demeanor,  yet 
always  calm,  dignified,  self-possessed,  strong,  and  great. 
As  leader  of  his  party  on  the  floor,  he  controlled  his  forces 
more  by  inspiring  them  with  love  and  confidence  than 
with  fear  of  discipline.  He  was  tolerant  of  the  impulsive 
ardor  of  the  inexperienced,  of  the  "vaulting  ambition"  of 
youth  that  in  this  forum  so  often  "doth  o'erleap  itself," 
and  gave  full  value  to  the  usefulness  of  every  member. 

But,  Mr.  Speaker,  it  was  in  the  fury  of  polemic  tempest 
that  this  man  rose  superior  to  his  fellows.  The  louder 
shrieked  the  winds  of  passion,  the  higher  mounted  the 
surging  waves  of  partisan  animosity,  the  greater  appeared 
the  man,  the  more  capable  of  battling  for  his  cause  and  of 
representing  the  issues  for  which  he  stood.  This  was  one 
of  the  characteristics  of  the  man — that  he  shone  best  under 
the  greatest  difficulties — and  it  seemed  to  require  great  and 
critical  situations  to  bring  out  his  intellectual  qualities  and 
his  great  power  of  leadership.  And  he  has  challenged  the 
admiration  not  only  of  this  side,  but  of  that,  and  the  whole 
country,  for  his  great  ability  in  performing  the  stern  duties 
of  presiding  officer  of  this  unruly  House. 

It  perhaps  accords  with  common  observation  that  sim 
plicity,  gentleness,  kindness,  and  unostentation  are  almost 
universally  characteristics  of  the  truly  great  man.     Con- 
H.  Doc.  255 5 


66        Life  and  Character  of  Charles  Frederick  Crisp. 

sciousness  of  acknowledged  superiority,  of  security  in  a 
position  of  leadership,  and  of  general  approbation  and 
respect  generates  charity  toward  rivals  and  consideration 
for  opposition,  and  causes  a  great  mind  to  contemn  pom 
pous  parade  and  vulgar  display,  the  artifice  and  the  trick  of 
the  demagogue.  Our  departed  friend  despised  all  things 
of  this  character.  He  always  drove  straight  for  the  mark, 
and  by  the  ponderous  power  of  logic  and  reason  and  appeal 
to  honor  and  patriotism  he  hewed  his  way  to  the  accom 
plishment  of  his  great  purpose,  always  unyielding,  brave, 
and  courageous,  yet  generous  to  opposition,  and  never 
forgetting  to  be  courteous  to  all  and  considerate  of  all. 

The  privilege  was  accorded  me  of  a  slight  glimpse  into 
his  domestic  life,  and  it  was  there,  Mr.  Speaker,  that  the 
beautiful  attributes  of  his  character  were  brought  most 
prominently  into  view.  A  devoted  husband,  a  kind,  gentle, 
and  affectionate  father,  his  faithful  wife  adored  him  and 
his  children  hung  upon  him  as  the  tendrils  of  the  vine 
entwine  themselves  about  the  body  of  the  sturdy  oak. 
'Coming  out  of  the  war  almost  a  youth,  with  no  inheritance 
save  a  soldier's  honorable  name  won  in  a  cause  that  was 
lost,  with  no  possession  other  than  a  tattered  uniform  and 
the  blood,  brain,  and  brawn  that  God  had  given  him,  he 
started  out  to  make  for  himself  a  place  in  society  and  in  his 
country's  history.  At  the  threshold  there  was  linked  with 
his  life  a  young,  confiding,  loving  woman,  who  in  the  flush 
of  youthful  affection  defied  the  will  of  parental  authority 
and  joined  herself  to  him  to  march  by  his  side  through  the 
highways  and  byways  and  the  uncertain  incidents  of  this 
world. 

When  the  time  came,  Mr.  Speaker,  when  the  blush  of 
beauty  had  faded  from  her  cheek  and  the  form  he  loved  in 
its  youthful  beauty  had  been  wrenched  in  the  cruel  tortures 


Address  of  Mr.  Dinsmore.  67 

of  rheumatism,  there  was  no  lessening  of  the  love  which  he 
gave  to  her  in  the  beginning,  but  with  stronger  and  greater 
attachment  he  stood  by  her  side,  and  when  she  held  out  her 
crippled  hand  the  love  light  mounted  to  his  eyes  and  he 
was  wont  to  say :  ' '  But  I  will  be  your  hand.  You  shall 
walk  upon  my  feet."  Those  hands  and  those  feet,  Mr. 
Speaker,  never  failed  her,  but  were  ever  present  to  perform 
their  affectionate  offices.  A  beautiful  intimacy  existed 
between  him  and  his  children.  Often  have  I  looked  up 
with  admiration  from  my  table  at  the  hotel  where  we  all 
lived,  when  father  and  son — that  son  whom  a  loving  people 
have  sent  here  to  fill  the  vacant  chair  caused  by  the  relent 
less  hand  of  death,  honoring  both  father  and  son  in  the 
deed  and  themselves  as  well — would  walk  in  side  by  side, 
sometimes  hand  in  hand,  often  arm  in  arm,  before  the 
assembled  guests,  utterly  unconscious  that  any  were  look 
ing  with  admiration  upon  the  beautiful  comradeship  which 
existed  between  the  two.  And  there  are  not  many  things 
more  beautiful  than  confidence  and  fellowship  between 
father  and  son,  nor  anything  better  calculated  to  impress 
the  son  or  lead  him  upward  and  onward  in  an  honorable 
life  and  to  an  enviable  old  age. 

But,  Mr.  Speaker,  in  the  midst  of  his  honors,  in  the 
very  zenith  of  his  usefulness  and  his  splendid  life,  the  scythe 
of  the  reaper  has  mown  him  down.  He  has  left  his  foot 
prints  upon  the  highways  of  our  nationality;  he  has 
engraved  his  name  upon  the  tablets  of  his  country's  history; 
he  has  left  behind  him  a  name  to  be  emulated  and  honored, 
and  he  has  carried  with  him  the  respect  of  his  enemies,  the 
admiration  and  affection  of  his  friends,  the  devotion  of  his 
family,  the  confidence  and  esteem  of  all;  and  what  more, 
Mr.  Speaker,  can  any  man  claim  for  himself  upon  going 
out  from  this  world? 


68        Life  and  Character  of  Charles  Frederick  Crisp. 


ADDRESS  OF  MR.  BUCK. 

Mr.  BUCK.  Mr.  Speaker,  I  had  hoped  to  be  able  to  add  in 
my  best  voice  to  the  tributes  that  are  paid  to-day  to  the 
honored  dead.  But  the  elements  seem  against  me;  and  I 
do  not  know  whether  I  shall  be  able  even  to  make  myself 
heard. 

The  propriety,  Mr.  Speaker,  that  some  one  young  in 
membership  in  this  House  should  say  something  of  that 
great  public  servant  whose  memory  and  whose  deeds  are 
here  commemorated  must  be  the  apology  for  my  presuming 
to  add  my  humble  voice  to  these  tributes.  When  Hamlet  is 
challenged  to  the  duel  with  Laertes,  Osrick  says  to  him: 
"You  are  not  ignorant  of  what  excellence  Laertes  is." 
Hamlet  replies:  "I  dare  not  confess  that,  lest  I  should 
compare  with  him  in  excellence;  but  to  know  a  man  well 
were  to  know  himself." 

There  is  therefore  in  these  things  a  semblance,  if  not  a 
substance,  of  self-praise  which  under  any  circumstances 
would  make  me  modest  in  speaking  of  the  great  dead 
whom  we  honor  here  to-day. 

I  anticipated,  however,  the  situation.  I  knew  that  mem 
bers  of  this  House  who  knew  him  better  than  I  and  were 
better  able  to  speak  his  praises  and  display  the  beauties  of 
his  character  would  precede  me,  and  I  would  be  relieved  of 
anything  more  than  the  expression  of  that  impression 
which  I  gladly  and  truthfully  convey  and  which  it  was  my 
good  fortune  to  imbibe  from  him  during  the  short  period 
that  it  has  been  my  happiness  to  know  him.  It  has  per 
haps  been  my  good  luck  that  in  this  very  short  period  I 


Address  of  Mr.  Buck.  69 

have  learned  to  know  more  of  him  than  happens  in  the 
average  intercourse  between  members  of  this  House.  And, 
without  repeating  what  has  been  said,  I  can  only  say  that, 
perhaps  by  operation  of  that  inexplicable  intuition  by  which 
soul  communicates  with  soul,  I  received  the  impressions  of 
that  greatness  of  character,  that  firmness  of  mind,  that 
consistency  of  purpose,  that  devotion  to  duty  which  distin 
guished  CHARLES  FREDERICK  CRISP  and  which  language 
can  not  exaggerate.  I  will  ask  the  privilege,  in  view  of  the 
fact  that  the  memory  of  the  dead  and  his  deeds  are  on  record, 
to  pronounce  a  few  reflections  incident  to  this  service  which 
perhaps  also  convey  their  lesson. 

I  have  heard  criticised — I  may  say  ridiculed  and  con 
demned — the  practice  not  only  of  the  Houses  of  Congress, 
but  of  courts  and  other  public  bodies,  to  spend  hours  like 
these  in  eulogies  upon  the  dead.  Well,  it  is  in  the  nature 
of  things.  There  is  evil  as  there  is  good.  The  scoffer  is 
at  hand  to  tread  upon  the  heels  of  the  reverent.  The  jester 
and  the  clown  are  by  in  the  motley  mystery  of  human  life 
to  mix  their  colors  in  the  garments  of  wisdom  and  of  dig 
nity.  But  these  things  come  not  from  men  who  see  "books 
in  the  running  brooks,  sermons  in  stones,  and  good  in  every 
thing.  ' ' 

I  am  the  spirit  that  denies — 

says  the  arch  scoffer — 

Part  of  the  part  am  I;  once  all,  in  primal  night — 
Part  of  the  darkness  which  brought  forth  the  light. 

Why,  sir,  that  is  the  struggle,  the  epic  of  man's  redemp 
tion,  to  overcome  the  spirit  of  denial  and  survive  godlike 
in  the  prevalence  of  truth.  And  truth  prevails  and  is  evi 
denced  to-day  when  this  House  of  Representatives  turns 
aside  from  its  usual  business  and  from  its  public  service  to 
lay  the  flowers  of  tribute  upon  the  tomb  of  the  departed 


yo        Life  and  Character  of  Charles  Frederick  Crisp. 

dead.  As  we  look  down  the  ages  and  let  pass  before  the 
view  the  toils  and  the  struggles,  the  failures  and  the  suc 
cesses,  the  lights  and  the  shades  of  human  character  and 
effort;  and  above  all,  when  we  look  into  our  own  souls,  and 
try  to  square  ambition  with  achievement,  desire  with  con 
summation,  hope  with  possibility — aye,  all  the  contradic 
tions  and  paradoxes  of  conduct  and  aspiration — we  do  rise 
from  the  contemplation  with  the  conviction  that  through 
all  there  is  a  higher  destiny.  And  even  in  the  blankness  of 
despair  and  the  tragedy  of  hopelessness,  we  exclaim  with 
Hamlet,  in  the  ecstacy  and  exultation  of  our  souls — 

What  a  piece  of  work  is  man !  How  noble  in  reason !  how  infinite  in 
faculties !  in  form  and  moving,  how  express  and  admirable !  in  action, 
how  like  an  angel !  in  apprehension,  how  like  a  god ! 

Are  not  these  thoughts  justified  when  we  recall  that 
majestic,  that  self-controlled,  that  courageous,  that  manly 
figure  that  drew  by  his  magnetic  look  the  attention  of  his 
followers  and  the  admiration,  if  not  the  approbation,  of 
his  opponents  ? 

Public  service  should,  as  a  principle  in  our  country,  be 
always  commended.  Few  men  enter  politics  from  purely 
selfish  motives.  They  do  not  find,  if  they  enter  from  selfish 
motives,  what  they  seek.  They  soon  find  that  it  is  a  service 
and  a  sacrifice,  not  a  gathering  of  fruits ;  and  whatever  the 
original  motive  may  be  with  which  public  men  begin  to 
develop  themselves,  there  is  always  at  the  bottom  the  senti 
ment  of  patriotism,  a  desire  and  an  ambition  to  serve  our 
fellow-men,  to  be  workers  in  the  field  of  progress  and  of 
good  toward  our  country.  The  wholly  selfish  man  rarely 
troubles  himself  about  public  life.  He  nurses  his  personal 
comfort,  and  concerns  himself  no  further  about  the  law  and 
the  liberty  of  the  land  than  is  necessary  to  protect  his  own 


Address  of  Mr.  Buck.  71 

rights  and  the  pursuit  of  happiness  as  he  understands  it. 
Happily  for  the  human  race  and  happily  for  this  great 
country  and  the  people  of  the  United  States,  mankind 
stands  vindicated  in  the  high  shrines  of  the  temples  of 
duty  and  devotion.  It  awes  the  scoffer  into  ineffectual 
retreat.  It  shoves  by  the  selfish.  The  history  of  man  and 
human  progress  is  an  eternal  story  of  sacrifice,  devotion, 
and  of  self-denial. 

We  know  where  in  this  struggle  the  departed  dead  stood ; 
and  let  us  reflect,  as  has  been  said,  that  if  he  does  not  take 
his  place  among  those  meteoric  successes  which  come  from 
genius,  yet  he  ranks  among  those  men  whose  names  live  in 
history,  not  by  the  noise  which  they  have  made  for  them 
selves  only,  as  the  Caesars  and  the  Napoleons,  but  in  the 
rhythm  of  those  gentle  streams  and  strains  that  flow  from 
their  heart's  sympathy  for  the  welfare  of  mankind.  We 
admire  genius;  but  genius  is  the  gift  of  God  rather  than  the 
virtue  of  attainment.  We  look  up  to  a  Homer,  a  Dante,  a 
Shakespeare,  and  a  Goethe  as  to  the  inspired  of  God;  but 
when,  in  solemn  judgment,  we  pass  on  the  merits  of  men 
in  the  light  of  their  practical  service  and  usefulness,  the 
civilized  acclaim  goes  up  to  the  jurist  and  the  soldier,  the 
philosopher  and  the  legislator,  the  inventor  and  the  reformer, 
as  the  pillars  on  which  the  temple  of  development  is  erected. 
Behold  Solon  and  Leonidas,  Guttenberg  and  Luther,  Frank 
lin  and  Washington !  And,  Mr.  Speaker,  if  not  among  these 
men  as  leaders,  still  among  them,  as  a  class,  we  place  the 
name  of  Mr.  CRISP. 

Not  to  repeat  a  threadbare  quotation  (if  Shakespeare 
ever  can  be  threadbare),  he  was  of  that  robust  directness 
which  is  always  honest  and  honorable;  firm  as  a  rock  and 
candid  as  the  light.  Aggressive,  perhaps,  at  times  to  the 


72         Life  and  Character  of  Charles  Frederick  Crisp. 

point  of  severity,  he  was  ever  consistent  and  conscientious. 
Self-reliant  without  ostentation,  fixed  to  his  purpose  like 
the  northern  star,  his  ambition  cast  in  the  high  mold  of 
patriotism  and  general  welfare,  he  will  hold  his  place,  all 
in  all,  in  that  rank  of  men  of  giant  and  heroic  mold,  of 
all  the  elements  of  manhood  well  compact,  of  which  the 
majestic  Brutus  will  ever  be  the  literary  and  historic  type. 

Mr.  Speaker,  it  is  grateful  to  render  these  testimonials 
of  affection  and  approval  to  the  departed  dead.  It  is 
grateful  to  live  with  them — to  remember  them,  as  it  were — 
in  the  pure  atmosphere  of  spiritual  conception,  gathering 
the  good  they  have  done  into  tangible  shape  as  examples 
for  emulation  and  pledges  for  the  growth  and  happiness 
of  the  future  of  mankind.  So  with  our  honored  dead. 
However  inadequate  our  tributes  may  be — while  what  he 
leaves  behind  him  in  the  memory  of  his  perfect  character 
and  patriotic  service  is  already  secure  for  all  time — they 
give  vital  movement  to  the  good  which  he  accomplished; 
and  its  present  influence  will  go  out  at  once  to  the  Ameri 
can  people,  that  they  may  know  and  feel  how  glorious  a 
thing  is  the  perfect  American  citizen. 

In  this  great  republic  of  humanity,  where  in  every 
village  churchyard  the  willow  shades  the  graves  of  sover 
eign  masters;  where  every — even  the  humblest — heart 
may  swell  with  the  passions  of  a  destiny  grander  and 
nobler  than  the  majesty  of  kings,  public  virtue  is  a  public 
need  and  public  recognition  a  duty  and  a  consecration. 

The  republics  of  antiquity  made  their  great  men  and  their 
heroes  gods,  not  only  to  honor  the  dead,  but  to  incite  the 
living  to  emulate  their  illustrious  careers.  The  great  people 
of  these  United  States,  for  once  and  ever,  should  turn  back 
the  slander  that  republics  are  ungrateful.  Let  them  ever 


A  a 'dress  of  Mt\  Buck.  73 

recognize  greatness  and  reward  service,  honor  character, 
and  glorify  achievement.  With  that  will  come  regard  for 
constituted  authority  and  reverence  for  law,  which  mean 
peace  and  order.  So  shall  we  develop  the  perfect  citizen 
ship  and  consummate  the  highest  aims  of  self-government ; 
so  shall  we  adorn  our  liberties  and  make  sacred  our  sense  of 
justice  ;  and  so,  Mr.  Speaker,  and  so  best,  will  be  served  and 
honored  the  glorious  dead,  whose  strong  arms  were  their 
country's  and  whose  heart-throbs  were  the  aspirations 
of  humanity.  Among  these,  transfigured  in  the  light  of 
immortality,  will  stand  Mr.  CRISP.  He  will  live  long  in 
the  affections  of  his  people,  and  the  virtues  of  his  patriotism 
and  the  record  of  his  services  will  shine  out  among  the 
brightest  in  the  uplifting  spheres  of  human  liberty  and  the 
unmatched  heavens  of  American  citizenship.  Thus  the 
living  render  their  devotions,  that  the  dead  may  be  at  rest. 

Such  honors  Ilium  to  her  hero  paid, 

And  peaceful  sleeps  the  mighty  Hector's  shade. 


74        Life  and  Cliaracter  of  Charles  Frederick  Crisp. 


ADDRESS  OF  MR.  COOPER. 

Mr.  COOPER.  Mr.  Speaker,  I  well  remember  the  first  day 
that  I  ever  saw  CHARLES  FREDERICK  CRISP.  It  was  during 
the  preparations  for  the  opening  of  the  Fifty-third  Congress. 
He  stood  apparently  in  all  the  vigor  of  manhood's  prime, 
surrounded  by  the  leaders  of  his  party  in  this  House,  full  of 
life  and  hope,  of  vitality  and  courage,  yet  receiving  all 
with  that  cordiality,  that  easiness  of  access,  that  charm  of 
manner  that  was  characteristic  of  the  man,  and  was  but  the 
outward  reflection  of  an  inward  kindliness  of  heart. 

It  seems  but  yesterday.  It  is  but  a  few  short  years  as  days 
are  counted,  and  yet  within  that  space  of  time  we  have 
made  much  history.  We  have  seen  many  hopes  fade,  we 
have  witnessed  many  misfortunes;  but  nothing  sadder  than 
the  event  that  draped  that  desk  in  mourning  and  cut  short 
in  mid  course  the  high  career  of  Mr.  CRISP. 

Truly,  Mr.  Speaker,  these  things  are  beyond  human 
understanding.  He  was  surrounded  by  a  loving  family,  by 
troops  of  friends.  He  had  the  esteem  and  good  wishes  of 
thousands  of  his  fellow-countrymen.  He  stood  just  upon 
the  threshold  of  yet  further  official  preferment  and  honor 
from  that  great  State  that  has  so  often  honored  him  and 
that  he  has  so  honored,  when,  at  the  very  noon  time  of  his 
life,  when  his  sun  seemed  to  be  at  the  very  zenith,  suddenly 
it  declined  and  went  out. 

Sir,  it  is  not  merely  an  individual  loss  that  we  lament 
here  to-day.  It  is  the  loss  to  a  great  party  and  the  loss  to 
his  country.  When  the  leader  of  one  of  the  great  parties 
of  this  country,  full  of  experience,  yet  in  the  prime  of  life, 


Address  of  Mr.  Cooper.  75 

full  of  capability  and  patriotism,  of  vigor  and  of  force,  and 
yet  conservative  as  Mr.  CRISP  was,  is  taken  away,  his  loss  is 
at  any  time  a  calami  ty  in  such  a  country  as  ours.  But  a 
such  a  day  as  this,  when  dissensions  and  discords  distract  us; 
when,  look  where  we  will,  we  see  but  threatening  clouds; 
when  all  circumstances  call  upon  us  to  realize  the  need  of 
those  high  attributes  which  the  great  State  of  Georgia— 
which  he  represented,  and  where  I  had  the  honor  to  be 
born — has  engraved  upon  her  coat  of  arms  as  the  chief  sup 
porters  of  the  governmental  fabric — justice,  wisdom,  and 
moderation — how  great  is  our  loss  in  such  a  man!  I  had 
hoped  much  from  the  wisdom  and  the  moderation  of  Mr. 
CRISP.  He  was  never  a  theorist  or  an  extremist.  He  hoped 
for  the  perpetuity  of  his  party,  which  he  regarded  as  one  of 
the  instruments  of  good  government,  and  he  loved  his  coun 
try.  With  his  wide  knowledge  of  public  men,  with  a  high 
career  before  him,  with  the  open  field  of  opportunity,  I 
looked  for  years  of  usefulness  and  honor,  in  which  he  would 
have  not  only  advanced  his  own  reputation,  but  in  which  he 
would  have  been  of  most  material  assistance  to  his  people,  to 
the  preservation  of  his  party,  and  to  securing  the  prosperity 
and  welfare  of  his  country.  But,  sir,  that,  too,  has  passed. 
When  I  rose  here,  it  was  not  with  the  idea  that  anything 
I  could  say  would  be  of  any  consequence  to  his  fame  or 
add  aught  to  him.  He  has  written  his  own  memorial  in 
the  records  of  this  House  and  on  the  pages  of  his  country's 
history.  When  I  was  asked  to  assist  in  these  services,  I  felt 
it  to  be  a  high  honor.  Others  who  have  been  much  longer 
here  have  dwelt  iipon  his  qualities  and  upon  his  course  in 
this  House.  I  can  add  nothing  to  that ;  but  to  one  charac 
teristic  it  is  peculiarly  appropriate  that  I  should  render 
my  testimony.  I  came  to  the  Fifty-third  Congress  a  new 


76        Life  and  Character  of  Charles  Frederick  Crisp. 

member,  comparatively  a  young  man,  and  I  know  that 
everyone  who  participated  in  that  Congress,  and  who  so 
came  here,  will  join  me  in  the  tribute  which  I  pay  to  Mr. 
CRISP  when  I  say  that  his  generous  hand,  guided  by  that 
kindly  heart,  held  wide  open  always,  when  it  was  possible, 
the  gates  of  opportunity  to  the  inexperienced  and  to  those 
who  could  do  naught  for  him,  but  for  whom  he  could  do  so 
much.  It  is  a  pleasure  to  me  indeed  to-day  to  be  able  to 
testify  in  some  small  degree  my  gratitude  for  that  constant 
kindness.  He  has  gone  beyond  the  reach  of  our  words, 
but  he  is  not  dead.  "As  the  tall  ship,  whose  lofty  prow 
shall  never  stem  the  billows  more,"  he  has  merely  sought 
a  haven  of  rest.  No  man  is  dead  while  he  is  borne  in 
affectionate  or  grateful  remembrance,  and,  Mr.  Speaker, 
Mr.  CRISP  will  live  long  in  the  hearts  of  many. 


Address  of  Mr.  Swanson.  77 


ADDRESS  OF  MR.  SWANSON 

Mr.  SWANSON.  Mr.  Speaker,  a  great  public  career  has 
ended.  One  of  tlje  foremost  public  men  of  our  country  has 
been  stricken  down.  One  of  the  greatest  parliamentary 
leaders  of  this  age  is  no  more.  One  of  the  shining  lights 
of  this  House,  whose  splendid  achievements  have  and  will 
ever  shed  luster  upon  it,  is  no  longer  with  us.  The  recog 
nized  leader  of  this  side  of  the  House,  who  counseled  and 
directed  us,  has  departed  and  left  us  to  mourn  a  loss  which 
is  irreparable.  A  great  heart,  warm,  generous,  kind,  and 
magnetic,  no  longer  pulsates.  A  mind,  clear,  strong,  and 
masculine,  of  great  depth  and  grasp,  no  longer  gives  us  its 
scintillations  of  thought.  A  tongue  of  great  eloquence 
and  power,  which  has  so  often  stirred  and  swayed  this 
House,  is  now  silent  in  death.  A  life  in  which  can  be 
traced  much  of  shadow  and  shine,  much  of  privation  and 
much  of  triumph,  inspiring  in  its  success  over  difficulties, 
admirable  in  development  and  attained  proportions,  has 
terminated,  and  we  to-day  pause  in  our  deliberations  to  pay 
merited  tribute  to  and  to  do  reverence  to  one  who  has  left 
behind  him  such  a  life. 

I  rise  to  deliver  no  elaborate  eulogium — others  have  done 
that — but  simply  on  behalf  of  my  State  and  myself  to  place 
a  modest  chaplet  of  love  and  admiration  upon  the  grave  of 
CHARLES  FREDERICK  CRISP.  Virginia  has  ever  felt  toward 
Mr.  CRISP  an  affection  akin  to  that  entertained  for  one  of  her 
own  distinguished  sons.  When  the  storms  of  the  late  civil 
war  burst  over  this  country,  Mr.  CRISP,  then  a  youth  in 
Virginia,  enlisted  in  one  of  her  regiments,  and  became  a 


78        Life  and  Character  of  Charles  Frederick  Crisp. 

gallant  and  brave  soldier  in  defense  of  her  soil.  These 
years  of  his,  consisting  of  triumphs  and  privations,  of 
glory  and  disappointments,  are  interwoven  with  the  history 
of  Virginia  and  her  sons.  No  section  rejoiced  more  than 
she  at  his  increasing  success  and  fame;  now  in  mourning 
his  loss  she  is  second  to  none. 

Mr.  Speaker,  Emerson,  one  of  the  greatest  of  American 
thinkers  and  writers,  has  said : 

A  man's  fortunes  are  the  fruits  of  his  character.  A  man's 
friends  are  his  magnetisms. 

How  fully  is  this  truth  illustrated  in  the  life  of  Mr. 
CRISP.  His  life  was  one  crowned  with  great  fortune, 
blessed  with  friends  innumerable.  Thus  we  find  in  him 
a  sterling,  honest  character,  a  strong  masculine  mind, 
blended  with  a  warm,  generous,  magnetic  heart.  To  be 
great  and  to  be  loved  as  much  as  admired,  to  wield  great 
power  and  influential  leadership,  with  each  day  bringing 
an  increasing  devotion,  indicates  the  possession  of  the 
highest  order  of  intellect,  the  very  best  qualities  of  heart. 
Mr.  CRISP  possessed  all  this.  No  leader  ever  enjoyed  in 
a  greater  degree  the  combined  confidence  and  affection  of 
his  followers  than  Mr.  CRISP  did  that  of  his  party  asso 
ciates  in  this  House.  We  all  felt  he  was  our  individual 
friend  and  our  matchless  party  leader.  We  shall  ever  hold 
his  personal  traits  in  loving  remembrance,  his  public  career 
in  proud  recollection.  Who  can  ever  forget  that  straight, 
strong  form,  that  handsome  face,  that  unfailing  courtesy, 
that  warm  grasp  of  the  hand,  that  genial,  pleasant  smile, 
that  carried  sunshine  and  happiness  wherever  he  went? 

Mr.  Speaker,  Mr.  CRISP  will  ever  be  remembered  for 
his  participation  in  exciting  scenes  and  debates  in  this 
House  which  have  become  historical.  Our  memory  and 
the  imagination  of  our  successors,  aided  by  tradition  and 


Address  of  Mr.  Swanson.  79 

history,  will  ever  recall  his  wonderful  powers  as  a  parlia 
mentary  debater.  With  a  voice  at  times  slightly  tinged 
with  hesitancy,  but  clear,  strong,  and  resonant,  with  a 
presence  pleasing  and  attractive,  with  thoughts  pertinent 
and  incisive,  a  repartee  quick  and  pointed ;  cool,  calm,  and 
collected  amid  the  greatest  excitement  and  passion,  he  was 
well  equipped  for  the  rough-and-tumble  debates  of  this 
House,  and  it  was  in  these  that  he  showed  himself  pre 
eminently  great.  This  House  has  had  few  if  any  Speakers 
superior  to  him.  He  will  be  classed  among  its  greatest 
and  most  noted.  As  Speaker,  he  presided  with  dignity 
and  grace,  transacted  business  promptly,  decided  points  of 
order  quickly,  was  firm  and  decisive.  He  was  courteous, 
deferential,  and  fair  to  his  political  opponents.  His  whole 
public  life  is  without  spot  or  blemish.  For  four  years  as 
Speaker,  an  office  in  responsibility  and  power  second  only 
to  that  of  the  Presidency,  he  practically  controlled  the 
legislation  of  this  country.  He  exercised  the  vast  powers 
thus  placed  in  his  hands  with  prudent  care,  patriotically, 
and  conscientiously,  for  what  he  conceived  the  best  interest 
of  his  country.  No  corrupt  job,  no  vicious,  no  unjust 
legislation  ever  received  countenance  from  him. 

Mr.  Speaker,  the  life  of  Mr.  CRISP  is  instructive.  It 
comes  like  an  inspiration  to  the  poor  boy,  situated  as  he 
was,  possessed  of  high  yearning,  yet  confronted  with  pov 
erty  and  difficulties,  and  tells  him  not  to  despair,  but  to 
build  high  the  pedestal  of  his  ambition.  It  teaches  the 
ambitious  that  great  success  and  permanent  fame  can  only 
come  to  those  who  have  clean  hands,  pure  hearts,  and 
patriotic  motives.  It  proclaims  how  a  legislator  can  and 
should  close  his  ears  to  the  seductions  of  the  rich  few, 
but  can  and  should  listen  to  the  heart  beat  of  toiling  and 
struggling  humanity. 


8o        Life  and  Character  of  Charles  Frederick  Crisp. 


ADDRESS  OF  MR.  LACEY. 

Mr.  LACEY.  Mr.  Speaker,  it  is  fitting  that  in  the  hurry 
and  bustle  of  public  affairs  we  should  pause  for  a  time  and 
remember  that  all  men  are  but  mortal.  The  painful  truth 
is  thrust  upon  us  from  time  to  time  as  one  of  our  associates 
falls  out  of  the  ranks. 

Our  friend,  whose  death  brings  us  again  face  to  face  with 
the  great  problem  that  we  all  in  time  must  solve,  had  risen 
high  among  his  fellow-men.  There  is  but  one  official  place 
among  his  countrymen  higher  than  that  to  which  he  climbed. 

The  Speakership,  it  has  been  often  said,  is  the  second 
place  in  this  country  in  rank,  if  its  power  and  influence  be 
considered.  The  General  Commanding  the  Army  holds  a 
more  desirable  place,  because  his  office  tenure  is  for  life. 
The  Chief  Justice  and  Vice-President  both  take  a  higher 
rank  theoretically,  but  the  actual  second  place  in  the  nation 
is  that  of  the  Speakership  of  the  House  of  Representatives. 

All  revenue  bills  must  originate  in  the  House,  and  that 
body  in  the  most  direct  degree  represents  the  people.  Their 
term  of  office  is  so  short  that  its  members  are  kept  in  con 
stant  touch  with  the  people.  A  member  of  Congress  is 
elected  in  November  and  does  not,  except  in  case  of  an 
extra  session,  take  his  seat  until  thirteen  months  after  his 
election.  He  has  hardly  entered  upon  his  duties  until  the 
selection  of  his  successor  begins  to  be  agitated.  In  every 
official  act  he  is  face  to  face  with  his  constituents. 

The  supreme  position  in  a  body  of  this  kind  is  a  leadership 
of  the  people  themselves. 

The  House  contains  357  members,  and  so  large  a  body 
would  be  hopelessly  inefficient  and  unwieldy  if  great  power 


Address  of  Mr.  Lacey.  8r 

were  not  lodged  in  the  Speaker's  hands.  He  selects  the 
committees  and  designates  the  seniority  of  their  members 
and  even  appoints  their  chairmen.  The  committee  is  the 
workshop  of  the  House,  and  no  member  can  accomplish  any 
results  in  his  legislation  unless  he  is  assigned  to  committees 
in  which  he  is  able  to  perform  his  chosen  work.  He  is  like 
an  actor  in  a  play  who  has  been  given  a  walking  part  if  he 
is  placed  upon  committees  where  he  has  no  opportunities  for 
action,  or  in  a  line  of  work  for  which  he  is  unprepared  or  to 
which  he  is  unadapted. 

The  Speaker  may,  in  the  very  beginning  of  a  session  of 
Congress,  place  a  member  where  he  may  have  opportunities, 
or  so  shelve  him  that  he  can  accomplish  nothing.  This 
power  extends  to  the  minority  membership  as  well  as  to 
those  of  the  dominant  party,  and  its  influence  is  felt  in  every 
Congressional  district  in  the  Union. 

But  the  power  of  the  Speaker  does  not  end  here.  He  has 
the  right  to  recognize  members  upon  the  floor  and  he  may 
refuse  to  do  so,  and  there  is  no  redress.  He  can  shape  the 
course  of  legislation  by  giving  opportunities  to  present  the 
measures  which  he  may  approve.  He  is  the  chairman  of 
the  Committee  on  Rules,  and  this  committee  is  composed 
of  only  five  members,  three  of  whom  are  of  his  own  party. 
In  selecting  this  committee  he  is  practically  enabled  to 
bring  forward  any  measure  he  may  wish  at  almost  any  time, 
and  the  House  can  only  prevent  action  by  voting  against 
the  present  consideration  of  the  proposed  measure. 

Usually  less  than  10  per  cent  of  all  the  proposed  legisla 
tion  in  Congress  is  ever  considered  at  all,  owing  to  the 
enormous  amount  of  business  brought  before  that  body. 

This  being  the  case,  of  necessity  there  must  be  a  power 

and  discretion  resting  somewhere  by  which  the  necessary 
H.  Doc.  255 6 


82         Life  and  Character  of  Charles  Frederick  Crisp. 

business  may  be  selected  and  considered  out  of  the  great 
mass  of  the  measures  introduced.  In  the  last  Congress  pre 
sided  over  by  Mr.  CRISP,  11,797  Senate  and  House  bills 
were  presented,  and  of  these,  563  public  and  593  private  bills 
were  enacted  into  laws.  Congress  is  generally  entitled  to 
more  credit  for  the  bills  that  it  permits  to  die  than  for  any 
other  part  of  its  work,  so  that  the  failure  to  consider  bills  is 
not  usually  an  evil.  The  power  of  the  Speaker  to  prevent 
legislation  is  therefore  a  most  important  function.  The 
Speaker  has  the  power  to  delegate  his  authority  temporarily 
as  presiding  officer  by  selecting  some  other  member  for  that 
purpose,  and  he  also  names  the  chairmen  of  the  Committee 
of  the  Whole  from  time  to  time. 

New  members  are  apt  to  chafe  at  first  because  of  the  extra 
ordinary  powers  of  the  presiding  officer,  but  upon  further 
service  they  realize  that  in  so  large  an  organization,  having 
such  a  multiplicity  of  important  business,  the  system  of 
which  they  complained  at  first  is  essential  to  the  transaction 
of  the  business  of  the  country. 

A  Congress  which  must  consider  the  appropriation  and 
expenditure  of  from  eight  hundred  to  a  thousand  millions 
of  dollars  in  two  years  must  be  under  a  complete  system  of 
rules,  or  they  could  not  have  sufficient  time  for  their  duties. 
But,  with  all  his  power,  the  Speaker  is  still  the  servant  of 
the  House,  and  constantly  recognizes  that  fact.  Strong  and 
able  men  are  almost  invariably  selected  for  this  place,  and 
they  are  almost  always  strong  partisans. 

The  responsibility  of  Congress  to  the  people,  and  the  fact 
that  the  Speaker  himself  must  also  stand  for  reelection  in 
the  near  future,  places  him  in  a  position  where  he  must  not 
abuse  his  power.  He  not  only  is  in  a  place  where  his  own 
future  and  that  of  most  of  the  members  is  in  his  hands,  but 
the  future  of  his  party  is  also  largely  dependent  upon  the 


Address  of  Mr.  Lacey.  83 

wisdom  and  skill  with  which  he  exercises  his  important 
prerogatives.  He  can  shape  the  course  of  his  party  with 
almost  as  much  certainty  as  the  President  himself. 

The  speakership  of  the  English  House  of  Commons,  on 
the  other  hand,  is  not  political,  but  is  rather  judicial  in  its 
character.  The  ministry  upon  the  floor  of  that  chamber 
are  responsible  to  the  House  and  to  the  country,  and  the 
Speaker's  duties  are  more  like  those  of  a  mere  presiding 
officer  in  a  court  of  justice. 

All  who  have  seen  service  in  this  House  will  readily  con 
cede  to  our  presiding  officer  a  place  second  only  to  that  of 
the  President  of  the  United  States. 

Mr.  CRISP'S  first  term  of  office  followed  immediately  after 
the  Fifty-first  Congress,  where  the  powers  of  the  office  had 
been  so  fully  demonstrated  by  Speaker  Reed.  The  atten 
tion  of  the  country  had  been  called  in  an  unusual  degree  to 
the  Speaker's  chair,  and  Mr.  CRISP  took  the  place  at  a  time 
when  the  people  looked  upon  the  office  with  a  full  appreci 
ation  of  its  importance.  Having  personally  assailed  the 
prerogatives  of  the  position  when  in  the  minority,  he  was 
embarrassed  in  his  first  term  by  his  own  utterances  in  debate. 
But  in  his  second  term,  when  his  party  was  distracted  by 
questions  which  almost  threatened  its  existence,  he  was 
compelled  to  exercise  to  the  uttermost  the  very  powers  that 
he  had  so  severely  criticised,  even  adopting,  in  a  modified 
form,  the  same  rules  that  had  given  a  nickname  to  his 
Republican  predecessor. 

Speaker  CRISP  was  too  great  a  man  to  allow  the  reins  to 
slip  from  the  hands  of  his  party  in  the  mere  effort  to  be 
consistent.  He  recognized  the  necessity  of  adopting  meth 
ods  which  would  enable  the  dominant  party  to  enact  the 
measures  for  which  that  party  must  answer  to  this  country. 
Those  who  served  with  him  knew  how  ablv  he  conducted 


84        Life  and  Character  of  Charles  Frederick  Crisp. 

himself  in  the  most  trying  and  difficult  positions  in  which 
he  had  been  placed. 

While  the  Speaker's  chair  is  the  seat  of  influence,  yet  in 
a  stirring  popular  assembly  it  is  the  object  of  constant  par 
tisan  assault,  and  he  whose  memory  we  commemorate  to-day 
in  turn  was  the  attacking  and  the  assaulted  party.  But  it 
is  one  of  the  pleasant  features  of  parliamentary  life  that 
partisan  foes  are  so  often  personal  friends.  Mr.  CRISP 
loved  a  good  fighter,  and  was  a  hard  hitter  himself. 

His  career  is  a  striking  example  of  the  possibilities  of 
life  in  our  Republic. 

In  the  Fifty-third  Congress  Galusha  A.  Grow  was  sworn 
in  by  Speaker  CRISP  as  a  member  at  large  from  the  State  of 
Pennsylvania.  This  was  an  impressive  act,  and  brought 
into  comparison  two  great  periods  in  the  history  of  our 
people.  In  1861  Mr.  Grow  was  chosen  as  the  war-time 
Speaker  of  this  House.  Mr.  CRISP  was  then  a  young  lieu 
tenant  in  a  company  of  Confederate  infantry,  and  the  civil 
war  was  raging  with  all  its  fury. 

In  1864  Mr.  CRISP  was  a  prisoner  of  war,  and  was  not 
released  until  after  hostilities  had  ceased,  in  June,  1865. 
Now,  after  thirty  years,  the  veteran  statesman  from  Penn 
sylvania  returned  again  to  the  Halls  of  Congress,  and  the 
young  lieutenant  of  1861  had  become  the  Speaker  of  the 
House  of  Representatives  of  our  reunited  country  and 
administered  the  oath  of  office  to  his  predecessor,  the  ex- 
Speaker  of  that  Congress  which  had  enacted  the  measures 
to  prosecute  the  war. 

Who  could  say  in  the  face  of  such  an  event  as  this  that 
we  have  not  laid  aside  the  prejudice  and  bitterness  of  the 
stuggle  of  1861? 

And  as  a  citizen  of  Iowa  I  wish  to  lay  a  tribute  upon  the 
tomb  of  the  gallant  Georgian,  remembering  only  that  we 


Address  of  Mr.  Laccy.  85 

were  both  in  a  higher  sense  fellow-citizens  of  the  United 
States  of  America. 

My  first  service  in  this  House  was  on  the  Elections  Com 
mittee  with  our  deceased  friend,  in  the  heated  and  stormy 
sessions  of  the  Fifty-first  Congress.  Election  contests  are 
proverbial  for  the  partisan  feeling  that  they  engender. 

Mr.  CRISP  on  these  occasions  showed  himself  a  sturdy 
partisan,  and  it  was  in  these  controversies  that  he  won 
the  influence  with  his  party  associates  that  brought  him 
to  the  Speaker's  chair  in  the  succeeding  Congress.  He  was 
a  good  parliamentarian,  subtle,  quick-witted,  and  always 
ready  for  any  occasion  that  might  arise,  and  his  party  friends 
rallied  around  him  with  that  instinct  which  teaches  men 
to  involuntarily  recognize  a  leader. 

In  his  private  relations  he  was  an  agreeable  and  pleasing 
gentleman,  and  made  friends  on  both  sides  of  this  Chamber 
at  a  time  when  the  political  forces  were  nearly  equally 
divided  and  when  party  feeling  ran  high.  But  all  his  con 
flicts  of  the  past — in  the  tented  field,  at  the  bar,  on  the 
hustings,  and  in  the  Halls  of  Congress — are  ended.  Already- 
pointed  out  by  common  consent  for  a  certain  election  to  a 
seat  in  the  Senate,  he  was  struck  down  in  the  very  zenith  of 
his  career,  mourned  by  those  who  knew  him,  of  all  parties. 

It  was  a  graceful  and  gracious  act  on  the  part  of  the 
generous  people  of  his  old  district  to  elect  his  son  and 
namesake  to  fill  the  seat  which  his  death  had  rendered 
vacant,  and  this  pleasing  circumstance  showed  how  strong 
a  hold  he  had  upon  the  constituency  which  he  had  so  long 
represented,  and  how  fully  they  appreciated  the  beauty 
and  purity  of  his  private  life  and  domestic  relations. 

The  applause  with  which  members  of  all  parties  greeted 
the  son  upon  taking  the  oath  of  office  showed  in  what  kindly 
remembrance  thev  held  the  sire. 


86        Life  and  Character  of  Charles  Frederick  Crisp. 


ADDRESS  OF  MR.  BELL. 

Mr.  BELL.  Mr.  Speaker,  during  the  latter  part  of  October, 
1896,  while  crossing  the  plains  of  Nebraska,  I  glanced  at 
a  morning  paper.  My  eyes  immediately  fastened  upon  a 
familiar  picture,  with  an  inscription  below,  "Ex-Speaker 
CRISP  is  dead!"  That  sad  announcement  was  followed 
by  the  crowding  upon  me  of  the  many  reasons  he  had  for 
coveting  a  long  life.  I  was  forcibly  reminded  that  nature 
had  generously  given  him  a  comely  and  commanding  pres 
ence  ;  that  his  nature  had  been  formed  into  such  a  happy 
blending  of  sunshine,  good-fellowship,  and  frank  hospital 
ity  that  his  society  was  greatly  sought,  and  life  should  have 
been  to  him  an  unbroken  pleasure  ;  that  through  his  many 
commendable  attributes  he  had  become  preeminently  the 
favored  son  of  his  own  great  State,  and  was  in  sight  of  the 
goal  of  his  political  ambition — the  United  States  Senate — 
when  death  overtook  him  and  ended  earthly  ambition. 
But  sad  as  these  misfortunes  are  for  him  and  his  immediate 
friends,  the  calamity  is  infinitely  more  deplorable  as  a  great 
public  loss. 

The  death  of  an  individual  rarely  disturbs  the  general 
current  of  the  orderly  course  of  human  action,  but  occa 
sionally  one  does  fall  by  the  wayside  who  leaves  such  a 
void  as  is  difficult  to  fill.  Such  a  one  we  lament  to-day. 
His  mental  alignment  approximated  perfect  equilibrium. 
No  one  faculty  had  been  dwarfed  to  give  a  surplus  to  others. 
Therefore  he  never  startled  the  world  with  any  phenom 
enal  outburst  of  genius,  nor  did  he  ever  disappoint  his 
friends  by  descending  to  mediocrity.  He  was  of  the  solid, 


Address  of  Mr.  Bell.  87 

even-tempered,  well-balanced  order  of  men  to  whom  only 
can  the  safety  and  perpetuity  of  a  great  country  be  confi 
dently  intrusted. 

It  is  true  he  was  imbued  with  a  laudable  ambition  to 
serve  his  countrymen  in  public  places,  not  for  pecuniary 
compensation,  as  mercenary  aspirations  were  beneath  his 
high  standard.  He  was  not  ambitious  that  he  might  revel 
in  the  glare  of  official  society,  as  such  were  too  empty  and 
sterile  for  his  strong  common-sense  view  of  the  real  pleas 
ures  and  amenities  of  human  life.  He  sought  to  serve  his 
fellows  because  they  evinced  a  desire  for  his  services  and 
because  he  believed  that  he  could  serve  them  well,  and  he 
believed  that  his  policies  enacted  into  law  would  inure  to  the 
greatest  good  to  the  greatest  and  most  deserving  number. 

The  Populist  party  in  Congress,  for  whom  I  speak  as 
well  as  for  myself,  has  every  reason  to  pay  high  tribute 
to  his  memory.  While  Speaker,  we  were  few  in  number, 
misunderstood,  and  grossly  misrepresented  by  politicians 
and  the  partisan  press,  often  intentionally,  and  more  fre 
quently  through  ignorance  of  our  intentions  and  aspira 
tions;  but  he  was  too  large  to  be  tainted  with  bigotry  or 
intolerance,  the  worst  enemies  of  mankind.  He  never 
wavered  a  hair's  breadth  in  doing  us  complete  justice  at 
all  times.  We  never  visited  him  at  his  private  apartments 
that  his  easy  geniality  and  open  hospitality  did  not  con 
vince  us  that  he  fully  recognized  that  he  was  Speaker  of 
the  whole  House.  We  never  approached  him  in  the 
Speaker's  chair  that  the  hand  of  good-fellowship  and  some 
friendly  verbal  greeting  was  not  extended.  He  never 
denied  our  petitions  without  giving  such  cogent  reasons 
therefor  and  in  so  becoming  a  manner  that  we  acquiesced 
in  the  conclusion  that  he  could  not  be  expected  to  do  less. 


88        Life  and  Character  of  Charles  Frederick  Crisp. 

He  granted  our  applications  in  such  an  unostentatious 
manner  that  we  were  sent  away  feeling  that  a  right  and 
not  a  favor  had  been  granted. 

He  possessed  none  of  the  elements  of  the  bigot — never 
fastened  any  doors  between  him  and  the  public.  He 
preferred  to  be  with  and  of  the  people.  None  knew 
better  than  he  the  danger  of  tyrannical  majorities  visiting 
oppression  and  injustice  on  struggling  minorities.  He  was 
never  a  representative  of  any  special  class  or  section  of  the 
country.  He  was  a  statesman  of  the  highest  and  purest 
type,  and  a  representative  of  the  whole  people  of  the 
whole  country.  In  this  matchless  contest  for  the  suprem 
acy  of  the  people  the  loss  of  such  a  representative,  so  pure 
a  type  of  the  founders  of  this  Government,  is  indeed  a 
great  public  calamity.  When  I  returned  to  Washington 
and  met  the  colored  boy  who  used  to  care  for  his  room, 
with  moistened  eyes,  he  said,  ' '  We  have  sustained  a  great 
loss  since  you  went  away  in  the  death  of  Speaker  CRISP,  ' ' 
and  added,  "Everything  that  knew  that  man  loved  him." 

That  is  greater  eulogy  than  I  am  capable  of  pronounc 
ing.  After  all  is  said  and  done,  the  real  character  of  a 
man  is  most  truly  photographed  and  known  in  his  home 
life  and  by  those  who  serve  him. 


Address  of  Mr,  Wheeler.  89 


ADDRESS  OF  MR.  WHEELER. 

Mr.  WHEELER.  Mr.  Speaker,  when  the  Angel  of  Death 
received  the  spirit  of  CHARLES  FREDERICK  CRISP,  a  man 
was  taken  from  this  world  who  had  won  the  love  of  his 
State,  the  confidence  and  admiration  of  the  entire  South, 
and  the  respect  of  our  whole  country.  As  a  native  Georgian, 
I  take  special  pride  in  the  great  distinction  achieved  by  him 
whose  death  we  mourn. 

Mr.  CRISP  always  performed  every  duty  in  a  most  credit 
able  manner.  When  little  more  than  a  boy,  he  was  a  brave 
soldier  and  officer  in  the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia,  follow 
ing  the  sword  of  Robert  E.  Lee  in  the  many  battles  fought 
by  that  illustrious  commander.  With  the  return  of  peace 
he  retired  to  his  home  and  became  a  lawyer,  respected 
for  his  ability,  learning,  and  fidelity.  As  solicitor-general 
of  his  district  and  as  judge  of  one  of  the  superior  courts  of 
Georgia,  he  earned  the  highest  commendations. 

He  was  twice  elected  to  preside  over  the  popular  branch 
of  the  Congress  of  the  United  States,  and  during  a  service 
of  fourteen  years  in  this  body  he  certainly  reached  a  most 
exalted  place  among  the  statesmen  of  America.  His  repu 
tation  as  a  parliamentarian  and  a  just  presiding  officer  had 
extended  throughout  the  civilized  world. 

While  in  the  midst  of  the  performance  of  these  high 
duties,  he  was  appointed  and  urged  by  the  governor  of 
Georgia  to  accept  a  seat  in  the  Senate  of  the  United  States, 
but  his  high  conception  of  the  duty  he  owed  to  those  who 
had  elected  him  to  preside  over  this  body  constrained  him 
to  decline  the  proffered  honor;  but  the  people  of  Georgia, 
appreciating  his  noble  character  and  superb  qualities,  seized 
the  first  opportunity  after  the  expiration  of  his  term  as 
Speaker  to  do  him  honor,  and  with  almost  unprecedented 


90        Life  and  Character  of  Charles  Frederick  Crisp. 

unanimity  elected  him  to  the  office  which  but  a  short  time 
before  he  had  felt  it  his  duty  to  decline — the  highest  office 
in  their  gift — one  which  he  was  qualified  in  an  eminent 
degree  to  adorn;  but  just  as  the  decree  of  the  people  was  to 
be  recorded,  it  was  met  by  the  dread  messenger,  Death. 

Well  may  it  be  said  of  him,  right  worthily  he  fought 
life's  battle  and  won  his  way  to  fame;  and  the  people  who 
loved  to  honor  him  in  life  will  revere  and  cherish  his  mem 
ory  in  death,  and  his  name  will  be  arrayed  among  those 
illustrious  statesmen  of  Georgia  who  did  their  full  part  in 
perfecting  the  system  of  government  which  has  built  up 
this  great  and  prosperous  Republic. 

In  the  midst  of  his  strength  and  usefulness,  before  age 
had  made  slow  his  footstep,  or  chilled  the  warmth  of  his 
heart,  or  dimmed  the  brightness  of  his  eye,  or  withered  the 
brilliancy  of  the  intellect  which  had  served  his  country  and 
his  State  so  long  and  so  well,  surrounded  by  the  shadows 
and  hills  and  sunshine  of  his  own  beloved  Georgia,  in  the 
midst  of  his  countrymen  and  the  beloved  family  which 
knew  his  greatness  best  of  all,  he  fought  his  last  battle 
with  sickness  and  pain,  and  answered  to  the  roll  call  of  the 
Great  Captain,  and  passed  from  the  mystery  of  this  life  upon 
earth  into  that  greater  life  "whose  portals  we  call  death," 
though  there  can  be  no  death  to  those  who  leave  their 
names  enshrined  in  the  hearts  of  their  countrymen. 

In  our  journey  of  life,  in  the  Halls  of  Congress,  in  his  old 
accustomed  place,  in  the  sunny  vales  of  his  home  in  the  far 
Southland,  we  shall  greet  CHARLES  FREDERICK  CRISP  no 
more.  He  has  met  his  ' '  Pilot  face  to  face, ' '  and  has  crossed 
over  the  river  and  is  at  '  'rest  under  the  shade  of  the  trees. '  * 

I  can  but  echo  the  words  of  one  who  knew  him  well: 
"Over  his  dreaming  face,  in  the  shadow  of  the  Georgia 
hills,  we  say  good  night  to  him,  but  good  morning  to  his 
enduring  fame." 


Address  of  Mr,  Woodard.  91 


ADDRESS  OF  MR.  WOODARD. 

Mr.  WOODARD.  Mr.  Speaker,  it  is  a  loving  service  to 
those  who  knew,  valued,  and  honored  him,  to  speak  in  mem 
ory  of  the  life  and  character  of  CHARLES  FREDERICK  CRISP. 

As  a  private  soldier,  he  was  brave  and  faithful;  as  judge 
of  the  superior  court,  he  shed  luster  upon  the  judiciary  of 
his  State;  as  a  member  of  Congress,  he  was  long  the  trusted 
leader  of  his  party;  as  Speaker,  he  was  a  master  of  parlia 
mentary  procedure,  a  model  presiding  officer,  firm  and  reso 
lute,  but  always  courteous;  with  an  attractive  personality, 
indomitable  courage,  great  prudence,  an  earnest  partisan 
because  he  believed  the  policies  of  his  party,  if  enacted 
into  laws,  would  redound  to  the  honor  and  welfare  of 
his  country ;  a  statesman  in  its  best  and  broadest  sense,  his 
party  and  his  country  have  sustained  a  great  loss  in  his 
untimely  death. 

I  do  not  propose,  Mr.  Speaker,  to  review  in  detail  the 
early  history  or  services  of  Mr.  CRISP.  That  has  been  done 
by  others  who  have  known  him  longer,  and  who  have  in 
appropriate  and  eloquent  words  portrayed  his  exalted  worth 
as  a  citizen,  his  valuable  services  to  his  party  and  country. 

I  first  met  him  at  the  beginning  of  the  Fifty-third  Con 
gress,  when  I  entered  upon  my  service  as  a  member  of  this 
House,  and  my  admiration  for  his  character  as  a  man  and 
as  a  statesman  increased  with  the  passing  years. 

When  but  a  boy,  only  16  years  of  age,  animated  by  that 
patriotic  spirit  which  followed  him  through  life,  we  find  him 
a  volunteer  soldier  in  the  Confederate  Army,  where  he  served 
until  the  end  of  the  war.  Immediately  after  its  close  he 


92        Life  and  Character  of  Charles  Frederick  Crisp. 

commenced  the  study  of  law,  and  in  a  few  years  attained  a 
high  rank  in  his  chosen  profession.  He  was  elected  solicitor- 
general  and  judge  of  the  superior  court,  and  while  on  the 
bench  was  elected  to  Congress.  He  had  served  in  the  House 
but  a  short  time  when  his  conspicuous  ability  pointed  him 
out,  as  if  by  intuition,  as  the  leader  of  his  party  on  the 
floor.  Having  been  assigned  by  common  consent  to  that 
honorable  and  responsible  position,  it  was  manifest  that  he 
was  a  born  leader,  equal  to  every  emergency,  always  ready, 
always  wise,  always  able,  and  ever  true  to  his  convictions 
of  duty.  While  possessed  of  that  firmness  and  true  courage 
so  necessary  to  constitute  a  successful  leader,  Mr.  CRISP  was 
withal  a  modest  gentleman,  and  never  forgot  the  amenities 
and  courtesies  due  his  opponents.  On  all  occasions  he 
exhibited  those  manly  and  gentle  virtues  which  never  fail 
to  win  our  warmest  admiration  and  tenderest  regard. 

In  the  Fifty-second  and  Fifty-third  Congresses  he  was 
elected  Speaker  of  this  House,  and  in  that  delicate  and 
responsible  position  he  more  than  sustained  his  justly  earned 
reputation  for  ability,  firmness,  fairness,  and  courtesy.  His 
record  as  presiding  officer  will  compare  favorably  with  that 
of  the  most  distinguished  parliamentarians  who  preceded 
him.  In  every  position  he  was  called  upon  to  fill,  Mr. 
CRISP  measured  up  to  the  fullest  expectations  of  his  friends, 
and  his  whole  life  affords  a  bright  example  for  the  young 
men  of  our  country  to  emulate. 

As  a  soldier,  as  a  citizen,  as  a  judge,  as  a  member  of  Con 
gress,  as  Speaker,  as  the  great  leader  of  a  great  party,  he 
was  ever  faithful  to  himself,  to  his  people,  to  his  party,  to 
his  country,  and  to  his  Maker.  Those  high,  noble,  and  sin 
cere  virtues  which  made  Mr.  CRISP  a  conspicuous  leader  in 
American  politics  and  constituted  him  a  pure  and  unsullied 


Address  of  Mr,  Woodard.  93 

statesman  were  a  part  of  his  nature,  and  they  appear  with 
equal  beauty  and  brightness  in  his  private  character.  In 
all  the  private  and  social  relations  of  life  the  same  purity  of 
character,  honesty  of  purpose,  and  noble  aspirations  which 
distinguished  his  public  life  made  him  a  model  citizen,  a 
true  and  constant  friend,  a  loving  and  tender  husband,  an 
affectionate  father,  and  a  Christian  gentleman. 

It  was  my  fortune,  Mr.  Speaker,  to  be  constantly  asso 
ciated  with  him  during  the  last  four  years,  as  we  boarded 
at  the  same  hotel  in  this  city.  The  more  I  saw  of  him  the 
more  I  appreciated  his  high  qualities  and  the  beauties  and 
virtues  of  his  private  life.  During  the  latter  part  of  the 
first  session  of  this  Congress  the  health  of  Mr.  CRISP 
became  impaired,  but  his  friends  hoped  his  suffering  would 
be  only  temporary.  After  adjournment  he  sought  relief 
in  the  pure  and  invigorating  climate  of  western  North 
Carolina;  but  the  disease  which  had  attacked  him  was 
a  fatal  malady,  and  his  indomitable  will  and  brave  heart 
struggled  in  vain  against  the  inevitable  result.  Death 
came  to  him  in  the  very  zenith  of  his  career.  It  came  to 
him  when  his  party  and  country  seemed  to  be  in  special 
need  of  his  wise  counsel  and  safe  leadership.  It  came  when 
he  was  so  soon  to  receive  at  the  hands  of  a  grateful  people 
the  high  office  which  had  been  the  ambition  of  his  life. 
Why  should  he  have  been  taken  at  this  time?  We  would 
not  question  God's  providences,  so  mysterious  in  so  many 
ways.  Beautifully  has  it  been  said  by  another: 

There  is  an  existence  beyond  the  present  life  where  all  shall  be 
made  clear.  We  shall  see  as  we  are  seen  ;  we  shall  know  even 
as  we  are  known.  Mr.  Dickens  made  the  poor,  idiotic  Barnaby 
and  the  coarse,  strong  Hugh,  of  the  Maypole  Inn,  hold  conver 
sation  about  the  visible  wonders  of  the  heavens,  and  they 
inquire  of  each  other  whence  comes  the  light  of  the  innumerable 


94        Life  and  Character  of  Charles  Frederick  Crisp. 

stars  that  dot  the  skies.  When  they  were  both  under  sentence 
of  death,  and  just  before  the  dawn  of  day  were  led  across  the 
prison  yard  toward  the  place  of  execution,  Barnaby,  looking 
upward  toward  the  myriad  lights  of  the  night,  exclaims: 
"  Hugh,  we  shall  know  what  makes  the  stars  shine  now." 

Our  faith  here  to-day  ought  to  exceed  that  of  the  poor 
simpleton  created  by  the  imagination  of  the  novelist.  Not 
only  shall  we  know  what  makes  the  stars  shine,  but  all 
the  wonders  of  the  vast  universe  shall  be  open  to  our 
search.  Our  homes  shall  be  among  the  heavens;  the  prob 
lems  that  our  burdened  souls  have  studied  so  despairingly 
shall  be  happily  solved,  and  we  may  even  become  partici 
pators  in  the  knowledge  and  power  of  Him — 

Whose  power  o'er  moving  worlds  presides, 
Whose  voice  created  and  whose  wisdom  guides. 

To  this  felicity  the  friend  we  now  with  tenderness 
remember  has  already  fully  advanced.  We  would  not,  if 
we  could,  bring  him  back  to  earth,  slowly  and  painfully  to 
die  again.  We  wait,  reverently  and  hopefully,  for  the 
summons  to  us  to  join  him  in  some  star  that  is  shining, 
from  eternity  to  eternity,  with  unfading  luster  in  God's 
illimitable  wilderness  of  worlds. 


'Address  of  Mr.  Layton.  95 


ADDRESS  OF  MR.  LAYTON. 

Mr.  LAYTON.  Mr.  Speaker,  what  is  an  ideal  man?  Who 
is  a  perfect  man?  Who  can  fully  describe  him?  Where 
can  he  be  found?  These  questions  present  a  fruitful  and 
varied  field  for  the  writer  and  speaker,  so  broad  and  varied 
in  fact  that  I  do  not  deem  it  wise  or  appropriate  to  enter 
thereon  or  therein  save  only  for  the  purpose  of  making  a 
few  observations  this  afternoon  more  or  less  pertinent  to  the 
occasion. 

Hence  I  would  inquire,  What  is  your  ideal  of  an  Ameri 
can  statesman?  Where  say  you  he  can  be  found?  How 
would  you  describe  him  to  your  hearers?  Have  you  ever 
seen  his  counterpart?  Is  he  now  living  or  dead?  Should 
these  inquiries  be  addressed  to  myself,  I  would  be  con 
strained  to  answer  in  substance:  I  have  never  yet  seen  in  its 
entirety  my  ideal  of  an  American  statesman;  neither  do  I 
know  where  he  can  be  found,  nor  can  I  fully  or  satisfactorily 
describe  him  to  you.  Yet  I  well  remember  one  who  came 
so  near  to  my  ideal  that  I  do  not  now  hesitate  to  accept  him 
as  such;  but  with  a  sadness  I  can  but  illy  express,  I  would 
say  he  is  no  longer  living. 

Perhaps  my  ideal  is  too  exalted.  Perhaps  in  fact  he  never 
existed,  can  not,  nor  ever  will.  If  so,  I  much  regret  it,  for 
as  I  now  view  it  in  the  light  of  more  or  less  intercourse  and 
association  with  many  of  our  American  statesmen,  during 
the  last  six  years  especially,  I  do  not  regard  my  ideal  as 
unreasonable  or  impossible  of  attainment.  And  as  an 
American  citizen  who  loves  and  admires  her  men  and  her 
institutions  and  believes  in  her  continuing  progress  and 


96        Life  and  Character  of  Charles  Frederick  Crisp. 

advancement,  it  affords  me  great  pleasure  to  say  that,  while 
none  of  her  statesmen  of  my  acquaintance  come  up  to  the 
exact  mark  or  line,  yet  many  come  so  near  it  that  I  shall 
ever  refer  to  the  fact  with  pride  and  satisfaction.  So  near 
have  so  many  come  to  this  exacting  ideal  that  I  can  have 
no  fear  for  the  future  growth  and  welfare  of  our  now  great 
Republic  under  their  continuing  care  and  guidance. 

In  my  humble  judgment,  an  ideal,  a  real  American 
statesman,  in  these  times  especially,  when  aristocracy  and 
plutocracy  are  so  freely  referred  to  and  censured,  should 
at  all  times  be  purely  democratic  in  his  ways,  manner,  and 
conduct  with  all  his  fellow-men,  and  yet  always  dignified. 
He  should  of  course,  be  educated,  able,  and  intellectual. 
He  should  never  be  a  demagogue.  He  should  be  affable 
and  pleasant  and  still  dignified.  He  should  be  firm  and 
decisive,  yet  considerate  and  forbearing,  especially  with 
his  inferiors  in  intellect  and  experience.  He  should  not 
be  sarcastic  to  individuals,  no  matter  how  caustic  he  may  be 
in  his  references  to  criticism  of  classes  or  parties,  and  above 
and  beyond  all,  unselfishness  and  patriotism  should  guide 
and  control  his  every  public  utterance  and  action.  We 
doubtless  have  had  in  the  past  and  now  have  many  Ameri 
can  statesmen  who  fulfill  most  of  these  requirements,  if  not 
quite  all.  I  can  pay  no  higher  or  more  just  tribute  to  the 
memory  of  CHARLES  FREDERICK  CRISP  than  to  say  that, 
taking  him  all  in  all,  he  came  nearer  doing  so  than  any 
other  with  whom  I  have  ever  had  the  honor  of  an  acquaint 
anceship.  None  who  knew  him  well  will  resent  this  state 
ment  or  take  offense  thereat.  He  was  always  manly  and 
dignified  in  his  manner  and  conduct,  yet  ever  affable  and 
pleasant,  whether  on  the  floor  of  this  House,  in  the  com 
mittee  room,  in  the  Speaker's  chair,  on  the  street,  in  public 


Address  of  Mr.  Layton.  97 

gatherings,  or  in  his  own  household.  He  was  always  posi 
tive  and  firm  in  his  convictions  and  opinions,  and  yet  ever 
kind  and  considerate  with  those  who  might  differ  with  him. 
In  all  matters  he  was  totally  unselfish,  and  true  patriotism — 
the  general  welfare  of  his  country — seemed  to  guide  him  in 
all  his  official  conduct.  He  was  not  a  great  orator,  but  was 
a  great,  concise  debater.  As  a  husband  and  father,  he 
was  ever  loving,  kind,  and  gentle.  Those  who  knew  him 
best  appreciated  him  the  most. 

Term  after  term  the  people  of  his  Congressional  district 
returned  him  to  Congress  with  an  almost  unanimous  voice. 
In  the  Fifty-second  Congress,  when  his  party  came  in  power, 
he  was  elected  to  the  high  and  important  office  of  Speaker 
of  this  House — the  most  important  position  in  the  Union 
next  to  that  of  President.  The  Firty-third  Congress  again 
so  honored  him  without  any  opposition  from  his  own  party. 
He  administered  the  office  with  great  ability  and  impar 
tiality.  At  the  beginning  of  the  present  Congress  he  was 
honored  by  his  party  associates  as  their  choice  for  the  same 
position.  While  serving  in  this  exalted  position  the  gov 
ernor  of  his  State,  in  willing  obedience  to  the  wishes  of  the 
people,  tendered  him  the  Senatorship  by  appointment  to  fill 
a  vacancy  in  the  United  States  Senate.  And  yet,  while 
desiring  the  position  thus  so  kindly  offered  him,  he  promptly 
declined  the  appointment  on  the  sole  and  patriotic  ground 
that  he  could  serve  his  country  and  party  the  better  by 
retaining  the  Speakership.  Soon  afterwards  he  was  duly 
recommended  as  a  candidate  for  the  United  States  Senate 
by  his  party  in  Georgia  with  substantial  unanimity.  But, 
alas,  before  he  could  take  his  seat  therein,  ruthless  Death 
cut  him  down.  But  recently  his  young  but  worthy  son, 
Charles  R.  Crisp,  was  elected  a  member  of  this  House 

H.  Doc.  255 7 


98        Life  and  Character  of  Charles  Frederick  Crisp. 

without  opposition  to  succeed  his  illustrious  father  and  fill 
out  his  unexpired  term  in  this  Congress.  On  the  first  day 
of  this  session  Mr.  CRISP'S  untimely  death  was  acknowl 
edged  by  an  appropriate  resolution,  followed  by  immediate 
adjournment  for  the  day  in  honor  of  his  memory.  All, 
regardless  of  section  or  party,  conceded  that  his  premature 
death  in  the  prime  of  his  manhood  was  a  great  loss  to  his 
State  and  the  nation.  No  man,  no  newspaper,  said  an  un 
kind  word  of  him,  but  all,  as  we  are  now  doing,  sincerely 
regret  and  mourn  his  loss.  Indeed  may  we  say: 

None  knew  him  but  to  love  him, 
None  named  him  but  to  praise. 

Ohio  mourns  with  Georgia  over  the  loss  of  her  distin 
guished  son. 

To  every  American  citizen  who  desires  or  intends  to  fol 
low  public  official  life  I  most  sincerely  commend  the  life, 
character,  and  history7  of  Mr.  CRISP.  May  we,  our  children, 
and  our  children's  children  ever  emulate  his  noble  example. 


Address  of  Mr.  Bankhcad.  99 


ADDRESS  OF  MR.  BANKHEAD. 

Mr.  BANKHEAD.  Mr.  Speaker,  to-day  we  stop  for  a  brief 
season  the  onward  current  of  our  everyday  duties  to  pay 
tribute  to  one  who  in  life  was  most  himself  when  engaged, 
as  we  are  daily  engaged,  in  the  business  and  affairs  of  this 
House.  In  the  death  of  CHARLES  FREDERICK  CRISP,  rep 
resentative  life  in  America  lost  one  of  its  most  brilliant 
ornaments  and  our  nation  one  of  its  purest  and  most  exalted 
statesmen. 

Standing  now  in  this  presence,  about  to  speak  my  words 
of  tribute  to  our  dead  friend  and  associate,  I  feel  crowding 
on  me  emotions  of  peculiar  sadness.  All  the  keen  pain 
and  anguish  that  touched  my  heart  at  the  immediate  occa 
sion  of  his  death  are  renewed,  and  what  I  would  say  is 
almost  stayed.  In  our  greetings  and  farewells  we  have  no 
set  and  studied  phrases.  When  we  grasp  the  hand  of  one 
we  may  not  have  seen  for  years,  or  come  to  part  with 
one  we  may  never  see  again,  then  it  is  that  speech  is  hollow 
and  but  sound,  and  the  beaming  eyes,  the  quivering  lips, 
the  whole  face  give  expression  to  an  emotion  beyond  the 
reach  of  words. 

Sir,  when  Mr.  CRISP  died,  he  had  barely  passed  the  half- 
century  mark.  Born  in  the  year  1845,  educated  in  the 
common  schools  of  his  State,  a  mere  lad  of  16  he  entered 
the  Confederate  Army.  From  his  enlistment  in  May,  1861, 
to  his  capture  in  May,  1864,  he  was  a  brave  soldier,  win 
ning  the  confidence  and  love  of  his  superiors.  He  knew 
the  true  import  of  the  word  duty,  and  all  his  subsequent 
career  shows  the  influence  on  his  life  of  the  rigorous 


ioo      Life  and  Character  of  Charles  Frederick  Crisp. 

discipline  of  active  warfare.  Of  the  part  he  took  in  this 
mighty  conflict  I  know  how  he  felt,  and  that  feeling  I  find 
embodied  in  the  tribute  paid  by  the  distinguished  Senator 
from  Ohio  [Mr.  Sherman]  on  the  late  Senator  Randall 
Lee  Gibson,  of  Louisiana: 

We  have  come  to  regard  this  fierce  and  sanguinary  struggle 
as  an  inheritance  from  our  fathers,  growing  out  of  an  honest 
difference  of  opinion  as  to  the  framework  of  our  Government. 
Poor  human  nature  could  provide  no  arbitrator  to  settle  this 
contention,  but  now  that  it  has  been  settled  by  a  sacrifice  of 
life  and  treasure  almost  unexampled  in  human  history,  it  can 
be  truly  said  that  the  result  is  heartily  acquiesced  in,  and  that 
no  slumbering  fires  can  rise  from  the  ashes  of  the  civil  war  to 
disturb  the  unity,  integrity,  and  power  of  this  great  Republic. 

One  year  after  the  close  of  hostilities  found  him  admitted 
to  the  bar  and  located  at  Ellaville,  Ga.,  in  the  practice  of  the 
law,  called  by  Burke  "  one  of  the  first  and  noblest  of  human 
sciences."  For  six  years  he  toiled  at  his  profession,  strug 
gling  as  its  younger  members  do  with  an  effort  to  build  up 
a  paying  practice.  However,  in  1872  his  success  had  won 
him  the  first  of  the  series  of  offices  which  was  to  end  by  his 
being  the  choice  of  the  Empire  State  of  the  South  for 
Senator  in  the  United  States  Congress.  In  this  year  he 
was  appointed  solicitor-general  of  the  southwestern  judicial 
circuit,  and  after  a  twelvemonth  he  was  reappointed  for  four 
years.  In  1873  ^ie  removed  to  Americus,  where  he  spent 
the  remainder  of  his  life.  From  1877  to  1882  he  was  one 
of  the  superior  court  judges.  The  latter  year  closed  his 
professional  work  as  an  active  practitioner.  These  sixteen 
years  of  his  life  represent  a  career  full  of  interest.  He  was 
a  successful  lawyer.  His  ability  commanded  his  first  office 
and  enabled  him  to  hold  it.  As  an  advocate  he  was  earnest 
and  fearless.  Transferred  to  the  bench,  his  facilities  easily 


Address  of  Mr.  Bankhead.  101 

adjusted  themselves  to  the  severe  exactions  of  the  position, 
and  he  was  all  that  is  looked  for  in  the  term  an  "upright 
and  a  just  judge." 

Taking  his  seat  in  the  Forty-eighth  Congress,  he  early 
assumed  that  prominent  place  and  developed  those  splendid 
qualities  of  leadership  which  won  for  him  the  Speaker's 
chair  of  the  Fifty-second  and  Fifty-third  Congresses.  His 
life  and  work  here  are  known  and  read  of  all  men.  I  know 
that  I  am  in  the  limits  of  exact  statement  when  I  say  that 
there  are  no  acts  of  his  while  in  this  body  that  will  net 
stand  the  test  of  the  most  searching  criticism.  In  his  rela 
tions  with  his  fellow-members  he  was  always  genial  and 
pleasant.  He  seemed  always  happy;  and  while  he  might 
be  leading  a  galloping  charge  on  this  floor,  his  natural 
manner  never  became  offensive,  and  at  its  conclusion  his 
perennial  humor  and  serene  temper  returned.  In  his  work 
as  a  Representative  he  was  always  busy,  and  no  duty  did 
he  leave  unperformed  if  possible  of  attention.  His  con 
stituents  had  unbounded  confidence  and  trust  in  him  and 
in  his  power  to  serve  them. 

Perhaps  it  was  in  his  course  as  Speaker  in  this  body  that 
he  displayed  qualities  of  a  higher  order  than  in  any  other 
field.  His  ability  as  a  parliamentarian  was  remarkable. 
In  his  incumbency  of  this  exalted  seat  and  in  his  adminis 
tration  of  its  duties  he  won  the  admiration  of  his  political 
opponents  and  was  the  idol  of  his  friends.  He  was  essen 
tially  fair  and  just.  It  was  his  desire  to  do  right,  and  this 
he  did  at  all  times,  as  he  conceived  it.  Quick,  decisive, 
impartial,  unfailing  in  resource,  he  must  be  ranked  with 
his  greatest  predecessors. 

While  he  was  a  good  soldier,  a  successful  lawyer,  a 
learned  judge,  and  a  leader  in  the  greatest  representative 


Scho0 

Religion 


io2      Life  and  Character  of  Charles  Frederick  Crisp. 

assembly  in  the  world,  it  is  as  a  Christian  gentleman  he 
must  be  accorded  the  greatest  honor.  In  his  home  life, 
which  I  can  not  here  invade,  he  was  the  devoted,  tender, 
and  loving  husband,  and  the  ever  fond,  indulgent  parent. 
I  was  first  attracted  to  him  because  of  his  orderly  habits  of 
life  and  his  loyal  love  of  his  home.  Day  by  day  I  saw  him 
come  and  go,  in  the  Halls  of  Congress,  in  his  intercourse 
with  the  world,  in  the  bosom  of  his  family,  and  I  saw  in 
his  life  the  well-nigh  perfect  man. 

But  he  is  gone  from  us  now.  In  a  little  while  we  should 
have  seen  him  take  his  seat  in  the  other  end  of  the  Capitol, 
but  instead  he  has  gone  up  higher,  "to  where,  beyond  these 
voices,  there  is  peace."  The  journey  done,  he  is  resting 
now;  he  is  sleeping  the  sleep  that  knows  no  waking,  care 
less  alike  of  the  day  dawn  or  the  twilight.  For  him  the 
dark  night  of  death  was  the  sunburst  of  an  eternal  hereafter. 

I  will  not  say,  God's  ordinance 

Of  death  is  blown  in  every  wind, 
For  that  is  not  a  common  chance 

That  takes  away  a  noble  mind. 

His  memory  long  will  live  alone 

In  all  our  hearts,  as  mournful  light 
That  broods  above  the  fallen  sun 

And  dwells  in  heaven  half  the  night. 


Address  of  Mr.  McLaurin.  103 


ADDRESS  OF  MR.  MCLAURIN. 

Mr.  McLAURiN.  Mr.  Speaker,  no  man  can  foretell  the 
mysterious  issues  of  life  and  death.  Few  who  saw  CHARLES 
FREDERICK  CRICP  at  the  close  of  the  last  session  thought 
that  death  would  so  soon  cast  its  pale  shadow  upon  that 
apparently  robust  body  and  vigorous  mind. 

How  uncertain  is  the  future !  To-day  life  is  bright,  the 
sea  is  calm,  the  tide  swells  high  and  strong.  To-morrow 
the  tide  turns;  business  trouble,  sickness,  or  death  robs  us  of 
hope  and  pleasure.  From  the  calm  and  beautiful  harbor 
where  we  floated  so  confidently  we  are  rudely  tossed  out 
upon  the  wide  ocean.  The  horizon  stretches  far  beyond 
our  vision,  and  the  heave  of  its  restless  waves  comes  from 
depths  that  are  unfathomable.  Vainly  struggling,  we 
either  sink  to  the  tranquil  depths,  where  all  is  peace,  or, 
tempest-torn  and  faint,  are  cast  upon  the  shore.  Well 
may  the  poet  exclaim: 

What  is  life?    A  brief  delight; 
A  sun,  scarce  brightening  ere  it  sink  in  night; 
A  flower,  at  morning  fresh,  at  noon  decayed; 
A  still,  swift  river,  gliding  into  shade. 

The  man  who  would  know  its  true  secret  must  learn  to 
live  "in  deeds,  not  years;  in  thoughts,  not  breaths;  in  feel 
ings,  not  in  figures  on  a  dial" — to  count  time  in  heart 
throbs.  He  most  lives  who  thinks  most,  feels  noblest,  acts 
best. 

I  think  Mr.  CRISP  grasped  the  true  meaning  of  life  and 
lived  "in  deeds,  not  years;  thoughts,  not  breaths." 

The  first  time  I  saw  him,  the  thing  that  struck  me  most 
forcibly  was  the  strong,  cheerful,  and  kindly  expression  of 
his  face.  He  had  a  hearty,  genial  manner,  with  a  pleasant 


IO4      Life  and  Character  of  Charles  Frederick  Crisp. 

smile  and  kind  word  for  everyone.  I  can  well  believe 
that  in  the  home  circle  he  was  gentle,  tender,  and  consid 
erate  ;  his  sunny  nature  must  have  gladdened  the  hearts 
and  lives  of  those  who  were  traveling  the  journey  with 
him.  It  is,  however,  for  those  more  intimate  to  speak  of 
him  in  private  life.  As  a  colleague  from  a  sister  State,  it  is 
simply  my  wish  to  pay  a  brief  but  sincere  tribute  to  him  as 
a  public  man.  Those  who  differed  with  him  politically 
will  testify  that,  while  firm  in  his  convictions,  he  was  gen 
erous  and  tolerant  of  the  opinion  of  others,  while  those  of 
us  who  accepted  his  leadership  will  say  that,  like  Joseph 
of  Arimathea,  "He  was  a  just  man  and  good  counsellor." 

For  the  great,  patient,  toiling  masses  he  had  an  active  and 
sincere  sympathy.  He  never  lost  sight  of  the  fact  that  he 
was  a  public  servant,  sent  here  to  represent  the  will  of  the 
majority.  He  was  an  ideal  Representative,  never  imagining 
himself  wiser  than  the  collective  thought  of  the  people  who 
sent  him  here.  He  was  in  close  touch  with  his  people,  with 
a  thorough  knowledge  of  their  sentiments  upon  all  public 
questions  ;  and,  after  all,  true  statesmanship  in  a  representa 
tive  government  simply  means  the  needs  and  wishes  of  the 
people  translated  into  law.  The  people  love  and  appreciate 
a  faithful  representative.  What  a  graceful  and  touching 
compliment  they  paid  Mr.  CRISP. 

When  death  came,  they  sent  his  son  to  occupy  his  vacant 
chair  in  this  House.  Indeed,  there  was  no  more  beautiful 
sight  than  the  almost  brotherly  confidence  and  intimacy  that 
seemed  to  exist  between  this  father  and  son,  and  the  people 
of  Georgia  honored  themselves  in  paying  such  a  tribute  to 
the  memory  of  their  dead.  I  am  sure  that  the  mantle  fell 
upon  worthy  shoulders,  and  that  the  trust  will  be  regarded 
sacred  by  his  successor  and  namesake. 


Address  of  Mr.  McLaurin.  105 

It  was  while  engaged  in  a  canvass  of  his  State  for  the 
Senatorship  that  the  premonitory  symptoms  were  felt  of 
that  disease  which  ended  his  life.  Although  apparently 
sound  and  vigorous,  he  probably  had  full  knowledge  of 
this  vital  weakness,  but  he  did  not  allow  it  to  deter  him 
from  his  work.  I  met  him  day  after  day  in  the  committee 
room,  cheerful  and  confident,  while  he  was  always  at  his 
post  on  the  floor  of  the  House,  prompt  and  vigilant.  It 
may  literally  be  said  that  "he  died  in  the  harness."  We 
are  told  that  when  that  knight  of  old,  without  fear  or 
reproach,  Chevalier  Bayard,  was  wounded  unto  death,  he 
commanded  his  attendants  to  prop  him  up  against  a  tree 
with  his  face  to  the  enemy ;  he  then,  after  taking  the  sacra 
ment,  died  with  this  beautiful  sentiment  on  his  lips:  "The 
justice  of  Almighty  God  will  be  tempered  by  the  blood 
of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ. ' '  With  a  character  as  pure  and 
spotless,  with  a  courage  as  chivalrous,  and  a  like  trust  in 
the  justice  and  mercy  of  the  same  God,  died,  without  fear 
or  reproach,  this  gallant  knight  of  a  modern  day. 

The  State  of  Georgia,  Mr.  Speaker,  has  been  prolific  in 
great  men.  At  the  mention  of  her  name  the  mind  reverts 
to  Alexander  H.  Stephens,  the  conservative  and  sagacious 
statesman;  to  Ben  Hill,  the  eloquent  and  gifted  orator; 
to  the  lion-like  and  majestic  Toombs,  with  his  fiery  and  irre 
sistible  logic;  but,  sir,  great  as  are  these,  Mr.  CRISP  is 
well  worthy  a  place  in  their  ranks.  The  times  did  not 
afford  him  the  same  opportunity  to  display  the  most  striking 
qualities  of  statesmanship  that  they  did  Stephens,  and  his 
tory  may  not  accord  him  as  high  rank;  in  the  realms  of 
oratory  he  was  not,  perhaps,  the  equal  of  Toombs  or  Hill, 
but  as  an  allround  man — statesman,  orator,  and  debater — 
he  was  the  peer  of  Georgia's  greatest.  Of  great  practical 


io6      Life  and  Character  of  Charles  Frederick  Crisp. 

common  sense,  modest,  imperturbable,  evenly  poised,  and 
cool,  it  was  impossible  to  throw  him  off  his  balance. 

As  the  representative  of  a  powerful  majority,  wielding  the 
Speaker's  gavel,  he  was  impartial,  courteous,  and  kind;  as 
the  leader  of  the  minority,  he  was  cautious,  tactful,  and 
ready  of  resource,  and  it  seemed  to  me  that  his  masterly 
qualities  were  never  better  displayed  than  in  the  latter  role. 
He  had  a  clear,  clean-cut,  incisive  style,  with  an  entire 
absence  of  attempt  at  display.  In  a  calm,  sensible,  business 
like  manner,  he  went  right  to  the  marrow  of  a  question. 

He  inspired  confidence,  and  men  trusted  Mr.  CRISP  and 
accepted  his  leadership  because  they  knew  that  he  would 
never  say  or  do  a  foolish  thing  nor  be  caught  in  an  untenable 
position.  Preeminently  a  safe  man,  it  could  be  confidently 
counted  upon  that  he  would  say  the  right  thing  at  the  right 
time  and  do  the  right  thing  in  the  right  place.  Fully  devel 
oped  mentally,  physically,  and  morally,  he  was  ready  for  and 
equal  to  every  emergency.  No  one  in  this  House  ever  saw 
him  on  any  occasion,  however  difficult,  when  he  did  not  meet 
the  requirements  in  every  respect.  He  saw  in  an  instant  a 
weakness  in  the  position  of  an  adversary,  and  his  thorough 
knowledge  of  parliamentary  usage  enabled  him  to  seize 
every  advantage.  Under  the  most  trying  circumstances  he 
fully  met  and  often  exceeded  the  expectation  of  his  friends. 

Mr.  Speaker,  it  is  in  such  an  hour  as  this,  when  the  great 
and  powerful  are  cut  short  in  the  midst  of  their  career,  that 
we  are  most  forcibly  reminded  of  our  weakness  and  depend 
ence  upon  God.  Death  is  the  great  leveler;  he  makes  no 
distinction  between  prince  and  pauper.  It  is  the  same 
everywhere;  in  the  humble  cot  or  the  bright  palace,  in  the 
wild  forest  or  the  brilliant  city,  in  the  swamps  or  upon  the 
mountain  top,  to  the  humble  laborer  or  the  great  statesman, 


Address  of  Mr.  McLaurin.  107 

the  same  dread  summons  chills  the  blood  and  freezes  the 
heart.  Christ,  and  Christ  alone,  can  dispel  the  pall  of 
gloomy  terror  that  hovers  about  the  bed  of  death.  The 
genius  of  man  and  the  wisdom  of  the  ages  offer  no  other 
solution.  The  "  Go  in  peace  "  and  "  Thy  sins  are  forgiven 
thee ' '  must  be  spoken  to  each,  and  is  our  safe  retreat. 

It  is  not  given  to  many  to  rise  to  the  elevated  position 
occupied  by  Mr.  CRISP.  All  can  not  be  eagles,  but  each  of 
us  has  his  work,  great  or  small;  and  we  are  taught  that  the 
manner  in  which  it  is  performed  is  of  more  account  than  the 
magnitude  of  the  task  accomplished.  If  the  trend  of  our 
life  is  for  good,  if  its  course  is  ever  upward  and  onward,  if 
its  thought  and  inspiration  are  in  harmony  with  the  purpose 
of  Providence  in  creating  us,  however  insignificant  our  work 
may  appear  to  others,  surely  we  shall  find  in  the  great  final 
day  of  account  that  we  have  not  lived  and  toiled  in  vain. 

As  members  of  this  House  we  lead  here  busy,  active  lives, 
and  when  we  are  at  home  the  turmoil,  strife,  and  jealousies 
of  political  rivalry  leave  little  time  to  prepare  for  the 
"great  beyond."  It  is  well,  therefore,  on  occasions  of  this 
character  to  pause  a  moment  and  draw  home  the  solemn 
lesson  each  for  himself. 

Let  us  not  be  unmindful  of  the  fact  that  a  great  leader, 
one  of  the  busiest  in  our  number,  yet  found  time  to  seek 
that  peace  which  will  sustain  the  faltering  soul  in  that  last 
dark  hour  and  make  it  radiant  with  the  never-dying  hope  of 
eternal  life.  Mr.  CRISP  was  a  consistent  and  faithful  member 
of  the  Methodist  Church.  After  all  the  triumphs  which 
crowned  a  brilliant  and  successful  career,  I  doubt  not  that 
if  to-day  his  well-known  voice  could  be  heard  in  this  Cham 
ber  he  would  reecho  the  dying  words  of  the  founder  of  his 
Church,  John  Wesley,  "  Best  of  all,  the  Lord  is  with  us." 


io8      Life  and  Character  of  Charles  Frederick  Crisp. 


ADDRESS  OF  MR.  MCCREARY. 

Mr.  McCREARY.  Mr.  Speaker,  there  is  no  arena  which 
death  does  not  invade.  There  is  no  place  too  sacred  for 
its  touch.  There  is  nothing  living  on  earth,  no  matter  how 
great  or  small,  how  pure  or  vile,  how  rich  or  poor,  but 
must  finally  succumb  to  the  dread  destroyer.  There  is 
always  somewhere — 

Some  heart  that  is  bleeding, 
Some  eye  that  is  weeping, 
Some  home  that  is  draped, 
Some  loved  person  dead. 

When  our  comrade  dies,  when  our  coworker  is  stricken 
down  full  of  hope  and  high  purposes  and  great  achieve 
ments,  when  he  who  has  helped  to  make  history  and  par 
ticipated  with  us  in  the  important  legislation  of  our  country 
is  taken  away  in  the  prime  and  vigor  of  a  splendid  man 
hood,  when  his  ability,  integrity,  and  devotion  to  the  public 
weal  are  most  appreciated  and  most  needed,  we  realize  fully 
that  death  is  very  near  to  us,  and  that  our  affliction  is 
severe,  and  our  country's  loss  is  great. 

Others  have  given  detailed  accounts  of  the  life  and 
career  of  CHARLES  FREDERICK  CRISP.  I  shall  speak 
mainly  of  his  character  and  his  services  in  the  legislative 
forum,  where  I  knew  him  best  and  where  I  respected  and 
admired  him  as  a  leader  and  loved  him  as  a  friend. 

I  first  met  him  when  I  commenced  my  service  as  a  Rep 
resentative  in  Congress  in  1885.  My  admiration  for  him 
grew  as  I  became  better  acquainted  with  him,  and  I  was 
deeply  impressed  with  his  genial,  pleasant  nature,  and  with 
the  promptness  and  readiness  with  which  he  met  every 
emergency. 


Address  of  Mr.  McCreary.  109 

I  regarded  him  as  a  noble  type  of  American  manhood, 
able,  logical,  self-made,  and  self-reliant,  and  always  cour 
teous,  courageous,  and  true. 

He  was  firm  and  sincere  in  his  convictions,  faithful  to 
his  friends,  liberal  to  his  opponents,  fair,  just,  and  con 
scientious,  and  unceasing  in  the  discharge  of  his  duties  as 
a  Representative. 

He  was  the  faithful  friend  and  champion  of  the  people. 
He  loved  liberty,  civil,  political,  and  religious,  and  he  was 
devoted  to  popular  government. 

He  was  both  a  patriot  and  a  philanthropist.  No  man 
gave  greater  and  more  continued  evidence  of  his  love  of 
country,  and  no  man  was  more  prompt  to  aid  a  friend  or 
give  freely  to  the  needy  and  deserving. 

He  worked  for  what  he  regarded  as  the  rights  of  the 
people,  and  did  all  in  his  power  to  protect  the  interests  and 
promote  the  welfare  and  prosperity  of  the  Republic,  and  the 
radiance  of  his  integrity  and  the  brightness  of  his  honor 
were  never  assailed  or  questioned. 

He  was  devoted  to  his  wife,  his  children,  and  his  home, 
and  no  husband  or  father  was  ever  the  recipient  of  more 
love  and  respect.  His  family  circle  was  full  of  affection  and 
sweet  communion,  and  here  he  illustrated  how  happy  a 
man  could  be  who  was  trying  to  do  his  duty  to  his  God,  his 
family,  and  his  country. 

His  life  and  achievements  illustrated  not  only  the  splendid 
opportunities  of  our  great  Republic,  but  showed  also  the 
honorable  success  and  great  renown  that  will  crown  earnest 
efforts,  strict  integrity,  and  steadfast  devotion  to  duty. 

The  first  and  last  conspicuous  events  in  his  life  showed 
not  only  his  courage,  ability,  and  self-reliance,  but  also  the 
confidence,  admiration,  and  love  lavished  upon  him  by  those 


no      Life  and  Character  of  Charles  Frederick  Crisp. 

who  knew  him  best.  At  16  years  of  age  he  proved  his 
courage  and  self-reliance  by  enlisting  as  a  soldier  in  the 
Confederate  Army  and  bravely  fighting  until  the  close  of 
the  war  for  what  he  believed  to  be  right.  When  he  was  51 
years  of  age,  the  people  of  Georgia,  who  had  for  more  than 
a  quarter  of  a  century  studied  his  public  service  and  his 
fidelity  to  his  State  and  nation,  sought  to  confer  upon  him 
the  highest  honor  in  their  gift  by  making  him  a.  United 
States  Senator,  and  practically  all  of  the  State  senators  and 
representatives  elected  were  instructed  by  the  people  to 
honor  him  with  this  great  office;  but  his  death  prevented 
this  great  trust  and  well-merited  distinction  from  being  con 
ferred  upon  him. 

His  views  on  finance,  taxation,  education,  commerce,  agri 
culture,  an  economical  administration  of  the  Government, 
the  sovereignty  of  the  people,  and  the  independence  of  the 
coordinate  departments  of  the  Government,  and  on  all  other 
important  questions  presented,  were  often  announced  in 
strong  and  eloquent  speeches,  which  are  found  in  nearly 
every  volume  of  the  Congressional  Record  issued  since  his 
service  as  Representative  commenced. 

As  an  earnest,  fearless  champion  of  Democracy,  he  was 
always  ready  to  defend  his  party  and  his  principles,  and  he 
loved  to  uphold  and  support  the  teachings  and  doctrines  of 
Jefferson  and  Jackson. 

It  was  as  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives  he 
gained  his  highest  honors  and  made  himself  most  conspic 
uous  before  the  country.  His  knowledge  of  parliamentary 
law  and  procedure,  his  equipoise,  and  the  ease,  dignity, 
firmness,  and  fairness  with  which  he  presided  made  him 
popular  with  the  members  of  all  political  parties  and 
enabled  him  to  conduct  the  business  with  order  and  dispatch. 


Address  of  Mr.  McCreary.  in 

I  believe  the  dispassionate  judgment  of  those  over  whom 
he  presided  for  four  years  is  that  he  is  entitled  to  be  remem 
bered  as  one  of  the  ablest  and  most  accomplished  of  the 
Speakers  of  the  House  of  Representatives. 

The  history  of  Georgia  is  luminous  with  the  names  of 
brilliant,  earnest,  and  faithful  statesmen.  Among  the  ablest 
and  strongest  of  that  great  galaxy  the  name  of  Mr.  CRISP 
has  taken  its  permanent  place.  His  fame  does  not  belong 
to  Georgia  alone  nor  to  the  South,  but  to  the  whole 
Republic,  and  in  Kentucky  we  will  cherish  his  memory, 
and  his  fame  will  survive  along  with  that  of  the  other 
dead  statesmen,  jurists,  and  heroes — Hill,  Toombs,  Colquitt, 
and  Brown — who  did  so  much  to  make  Georgia  conspicuous 
and  illustrious. 

It  is  written  in  one  of  the  tender  and  beautiful  legends 
which  the  Talmud  has  preserved  that  at  the  moment  of  the 
death  of  a  good  man  memories  of  his  love  and  charity  and 
good  deeds  float  through  his  mind  to  cheer  and  console  him 
as  his  spirit  soars  away  from  the  cares  and  conflicts,  the 
joys  and  sorrows,  of  life.  If  this  be  true,  our  friend  in  his 
last  moments,  when  the  darkness  of  death  was  settling  upon 
him  and  the  first  glimpse  of  immortality  was  beginning  to 
be  seen,  had  much  to  soothe  and  comfort  him.  Reviewing 
his  life,  his  early  manhood,  his  mature  years,  he  could  see 
glittering  and  glistening  along  his  way  good  deeds  which 
benefited  his  fellow-men  in  the  State  and  in  the  nation. 
He  could  see  fidelity  and  devotion  to  loved  ones  at  home;  he 
could  see  charity  and  love,  fragrant  as  flowers  in  spring-time, 
beautifying  and  chastening  a  life  well  spent  in  the  service 
of  his  God  and  his  country,  and  at  the  end  of  it  all  I  believe 
he  could  hear  the  welcome  plaudit,  "Well  done,  thou  good 
and  faithful  servant;  enter  thou  into  the  joy  of  thy  Lord." 


112      Life  and  Character  of  Charles  Frederick  Crisp. 


ADDRESS  OF  MR.  WELLINGTON. 

Mr.  WELLINGTON.  Mr.  Speaker,  amid  the  lengthening 
shadows  of  this  midwinter  afternoon  the  Representatives  of 
our  nation  have  met  to  mourn  the  untimely  ending  of  a 
great  career.  The  strong  voice  of  active  legislation  is  at 
rest,  the  fierce  contention  of  partisan  debate  is  hushed,  and 
in  their  stead  solemn  decorum  and  order  reign.  To-day  we 
are  concerned  not  with  the  living,  in  the  present  or  the 
future,  but  the  dead  and  the  past.  We  call  a  halt  in  the 
march  of  life;  we  turn  from  the  busy  scenes  and  activities 
of  living  men  to  the  grave  that  nestles  with  many  others  in 
distant  Georgia,  in  that  place  set  apart  for  the  habitations 
of  the  dead;  and,  as  we  stand  before  it  with  sad  and  sorrow 
ful  mien,  I  would  lay  a  simple  flower  there  while  others 
may  place  a  wreath  of  amaranth  upon  it  as  a  tribute  to  the 
memory  of  CHARLES  FREDERICK  CRISP. 

From  the  quiet  portals  of  the  grave  there  come  none  but 
"fond  regrets  and  tender  recollections."  Resentments  are 
forgotten,  faults  forgiven,  and  remembrance  portrays  to 
us  in  vivid  pictures  the  virtues  and  noble  actions  of  the 
departed. 

As  we  unroll  the  canvas  of  the  last  half  century,  whereon 
time  hath  painted  in  ineffaceable  colors  the  life  history 
of  the  distinguished  man  whom  we  mourn,  there  are  few 
foibles  to  condone  and  much  that  was  noble  to  commend. 

The  annals  of  a  nation  are  written  in  the  biography  of  its 
great  men.  The  mass  of  the  people  have  no  history.  The 
record  of  their  lives  is  short  and  simple,  and  remains  ever 
the  same.  They  are  born,  they  live,  they  die,  and  are  for 
gotten;  generation  after  generation  meets  the  same  fate. 


Address  of  Mr.  Wellington.  113 

We  blunder  through  youth,  struggle  in  manhood;  and  if 
perchance  we  are  fortunate  enough  to  reach  old  age,  it  is  a 
scene  of  vain  and  unavailing  regrets.  But  there  are  men 
who,  by  the  force  and  power  of  talent  or  genius,  indomi 
table  will,  or  never-ceasing  perseverance,  lift  themselves 
above  their  fellows,  and  in  the  record  of  their  lives  write 
history  for  their  people.  Such  a  man  was  Mr.  CRISP. 
Not  a  brilliant  man,  perhaps;  not  one  whose  name  will 
flash  with  lustrous  light,  for  he  did  not  live  in  a  time 
when  splendid  effulgence  reigned.  Yet  when  the  records 
of  this  commonplace  period  of  American  national  life  are 
made  up,  his  figure  will  stand  out  in  bold  relief  as  one  who 
stood  by  his  section,  who  partook  of  the  bitterness  of  sec 
tional  strife,  and  yet  was  broad  enough  to  rise  above  rancor, 
and  developed  into  a  national  character,  which,  though 
tinged  with  sectionalism,  grew  gradually  until  he  reached 
the  loftier  elements  of  patriotism,  humanity,  and  a  gentle 
ness  rarely  observed  among  men. 

Born  in  the  stormy  times  when  the  unavoidable  conflict 
was  rapidly  approaching,  he  had  reached  the  days  of  youth 
when  sectional  strife  began.  The  bitter  struggles  of  that 
eventful  period  have  become  a  story  of  the  past,  and  a  gen 
eration  of  men  have  been  born  and  grown  into  manhood 
since  the  great  civil  war.  To  me  it  is  a  memory  of  child 
hood.  Yet  I  can  well  remember  when  the  two  opinions  of 
government,  which  had  existed  antagonistic  to  each  other 
since  the  formation  of  the  Republic,  divided  our  land  and 
arrayed  one  part  against  the  other. 

In  the  North  there  had  grown  the  idea  of  a  strong  Federal 
Government,  such  as  had  been  portrayed  by  the  Declaration 
of  Independence.  In  the  South  there  was  the  sentiment  of 
a  Confederation  of  States,  such  as  had  been  contemplated 
in  the  Articles  of  Federation  which  bound  the  Colonies  in 

H.  Doc.  255 8 


ii4      Life  and  Character  of  Charles  Frederick  Crisp. 

the  Revolutionary  war.  These  two  rival  principles  met 
upon  the  border;  there  sentiment  was  divided,  and  there 
fore  upon  the  borderland  can  be  found  that  judgment  which 
perhaps  will  give  in  more  impartial  manner  credit  to  each 
and  both  for  the  valor,  heroism,  and  self-sacrifice  with  which 
each  section  maintained  what  it  believed  to  be  right. 

When  the  great  struggle  came,  Mr.  CRISP,  who  was  then 
a  youth,  cast  his  fortunes  with  his  native  State.  Georgia 
had  broken  the  bonds  that  bound  her  to  the  Federal  Union. 
She  had  joined  herself  to  that  other  government  which  had 
been  named  by  the  Southern  States.  Mr.  CRISP  had  been 
reared  in  the  school  of  State  rights,  of  sovereignty  for  the 
Commonwealth,  and  therefore  it  was  but  natural  to  him  to 
give  allegiance  to  the  Commonwealth  which,  though  not 
the  place  of  his  birth,  had  given  him  sustenance  through 
childhood  and  youth,  and  from  which  he  had  received  all 
she  had  to  give. 

Amid  all  the  changeful  fortunes  and  vicissitudes  of  inter 
necine  strife  the  days  of  his  youth  passed  into  manhood, 
and  in  the  fortunes  of  war  he  became  a  prisoner  in  the 
hands  of  the  Federal  troops.  There  he  remained  until 
the  conflict  was  ended  and  the  great  question  upon  which 
the  perpetuity  of  this  Government  depended  was  forever 
put  at  rest.  The  first  period  of  his  life  was  closed.  The 
sentiment  of  State  sovereignty,  which  had  colored  his 
youth  and  led  him  to  take  up  arms  at  the  behest  of  his 
State  against  the  General  Government,  was  dead — aye, 
more ;  buried  beneath  four  years  of  weary  marching, 
attacks  and  repulses,  victories  and  defeats,  a  million  lives, 
and  billions  of  treasure.  It  was  a  lesson  in  national  life 
which  every  nation  must  learn,  and  which,  thanks  be  to 
God,  the  American  nation  has  successfully  committed  to 
memory.  It  made  a  deep  impression  upon  Mr.  CRISP'S 


Address  of  Mr.   Wellington.  115 

life ;  it  fashioned  all  the  years  that  were  to  come,  and  con 
verted  much  of  the  partisan  into  a  judicial  temperament. 
He  began  life  on  his  own  account,  studied  law,  and  entered 
into  its  practice.  Success  attended  his  efforts,  judicial 
honors  were  given  him,  and  then  there  came  into  his  life 
another  ambition,  which  led  him  into  the  path  where  he 
was  most  needed.  The  bitter  passions  and  intense  preju 
dices  of  sectional  strife  do  not  pass  away  in  the  fading  of  a 
moon  nor  yet  in  the  circling  of  the  seasons  of  one  short 
year.  They  die  gradually,  and  the  people  who  would 
throw  them  off  need  the  calm  judgment,  the  sober  second 
thought  of  men  who  can  lead  them  conservatively,  who 
will  appeal  to  nobler  sentiments  and  broader  views,  and  no 
man  in  the  past  two  decades  has  rendered  greater  service 
to  his  common  country  in  this  direction  than  Mr.  CRISP. 
His  whole  course  in  the  House  of  Representatives,  while  it 
manifested  the  fact  that  he  was  true  to  the  atmosphere  in 
which  he  lived  and  faithful  to  the  people  whom  he  served, 
demonstrated  that  he  could  look  beyond  the  narrow  confines 
of  his  State,  view  the  broad  expanse  of  our  country,  and, 
step  by  step,  guide  the  Southern  States  to  the  common 
vantage  ground  where  hands  should  be  clasped  and  com 
mon  cause  made  for  the  whole  American  people. 

When  I  met  him  first,  but  little  over  a  year  ago,  I  knew 
him  only  by  the  reputation  he  had  made  as  the  leader  of 
the  political  organization  to  which  he  belonged  ;  knew  him 
by  the  record  he  had  made  as  Speaker  of  the  House  of 
Representatives.  I  esteemed  him,  admired  him,  honored 
him,  and  personal  contact  but  intensified  that  sentiment 
and  feeling. 

As  a  leader  of  men  of  his  own  opinion,  he  was  neither 
rude  nor  masterful.  To  the  opposition  he  was  very  fair, 
just,  and  frequently  charitable.  To  tyros  and  beginners  he 


n6      Life  and  Character  of  Charles  Frederick  Crisp. 

was  not  only  gentle,  but  generous,  and  he  had  about  him 
the  subtle  quality  of  standing  firm  upon  his  own  ground, 
yet  winning  the  confidence,  trust,  and  good  graces  of  his 
adversaries. 

I  saw  him  last  upon  the  floor  of  this  House,  when  insid 
ious  disease  had  begun  its  work,  but  he  bore  it  bravely,  and 
by  strength  of  will  and  nerve  attempted  to  win  the  terrible 
battle  of  life  against  death.  Even  then  the  silent  angel 
poised  the  dread  shaft  which  ere  long  was  to  speed  and 
strike  him  down.  The  flowers  of  spring  had  bloomed  and 
faded  when  he  departed  for  his  home,  there  to  engage  in 
the  contest  which  was  to  bring  him  further  honors  from 
the  people  of  his  State.  Summer  passed,  the  harvests  of 
autumn  were  gathered,  and  the  winds  of  approaching  win 
ter  were  beginning  to  sigh  and  moan  among  the  trees  when 
the  final  summons  came,  and  the  wires  flashed  to  friend  and 
foe  the  news  that  saddened  one  and  all,  giving  the  tidings 
of  his  death. 

The  record  of  his  life  is  made  up.  It  is  fair  and  beauti 
ful  ;  and  the  characteristic  which  shall  make  him  loved  most 
among  our  people  is  that  he  was  just  and  generous  toward 
all,  and  mingled  with  justice  and  generosity  that  love  which 
is  the  best  part  of  all  men,  for,  in  the  language  of  the 
Ancient  Mariner — 

He  prayeth  well  who  loveth  well 
Both  man  and  bird  and  beast; 
He  prayeth  best  who  loveth  best 
All  things  both  great  and  small; 
For  the  dear  God  who  loveth  us, 
He  made  and  loveth  all. 

Thus  we  may  leave  him,  life's  faithful  mission  accom 
plished  and  the  enigma  of  the  hereafter  solved.  His  mem 
ory  may  be  safely  intrusted  to  the  people  with  whom  he 
lived  and  who  now  dwell  where  his  ashes  rest. 


Address  of  Mr.  Tate.  117 


ADDRESS  OF  MR.  TATE. 

Mr.  TATE.  Mr.  Speaker,  we  pause  amidst  the  stormy 
strife  of  life's  fierce  battles  and  the  busy,  bustling  scenes  of 
party  contention  and  international  disturbance  to  pay  trib 
ute  to  the  memory,  recall  the  services,  tell  of  the  exalted 
character,  and  recount  the  many  virtues  of  one  who  has 
left  his  impress  upon  the  age  in  which  he  lived.  A  great 
leader  has  fallen.  When  the  future  historian  comes  to 
record  the  names  of  the  illustrious  statesmen  who  have 
been  the  pride  and  glory  of  our  common  country,  that  of 
CHARLES  FREDERICK  CRISP  will  shine  forth  among  the 
first  and  the  foremost  and  shed  luster  upon  the  greatest  and 
the  best. 

When  Attorney-General  Gushing,  on  December  9,  1853, 
announced  to  the  Supreme  Court  the  death  of  that  great 
and  good  man  William  R.  King,  Vice-President  of  the 
United  States,  he  said,  among  other  beautiful  things  con 
cerning  the  dead  statesman,  these  grand  words,  which  are 
so  appropriate  to  this  occasion  that  I  take  the  liberty  of 
transcribing  them : 

He  stands  to  the  memory  in  sharp  outline,  as  it  were,  against 
the  sky  like  some  chiseled  column  of  antique  art,  or  some  con 
sular  statue  of  the  imperial  republic,  wrapped  in  its  marble 
robes,  grandly  beautiful  in  the  simple  dignity  and  unity  of  a 
faultless  proportion. 

Mr.  Speaker,  death  extinguished  a  great  light  when  Mr. 
CRISP  died.  He  was  not  an  orator  like  Clay,'  nor  a  logician 
like  Webster,  nor  a  metaphysician  like  Calhoun,  yet  he 
possessed  in  harmonious  combination  in  a  great  degree 
all  of  these  distinguishing  attributes,  and  was,  sir,  the 


n8      Life  and  Character  of  Charles  Frederick  Crisp. 

best-rounded  character  I  ever  knew.  He  was  a  pleasing,  a 
charming  speaker;  graceful  in  manner,  clear  in  statement, 
fair  in  his  representation  of  his  opponent's  position  and 
argument,  and  candid  in  his  search  for  the  truth. 

He  knew  how  to  be  at  the  same  time  a  partisan  and  a 
patriot.  He  was  a  partisan,  because  he  believed  that  the 
principles  and  policy  of  his  party  involved  the  highest 
interest  of  his  country  and  his  race.  He  was  a  patriot, 
because  he  recognized  in  the  beneficent  Constitution  and 
institutions  of  his  country  the  world's  last  and  best  hope 
for  constitutional  liberty  and  free  representative  govern 
ment.  He  was  no  specialist,  but  he  stood  among  the  first 
in  all  things  which  go  to  make  greatness.  He  was  a  wise 
counselor,  an  able  statesman,  an  eloquent  advocate,  an 
accomplished  parliamentarian,  a  courtly  gentleman,  and  a 
true  friend.  His  life  is  an  inspiration  to  the  young  men 
who  are  to  come  after  him — a  beacon  light  to  guide  them 
to  a  higher  sense  of  public  duty,  and  give  them  a  more 
exalted  idea  of  unselfish  patriotism.  I  do  not  care  to  dwell 
at  length  upon  the  public  career  of  the  illustrious  dead, 
because  it  is  a  part  of  the  history  of  the  country  and 
familiar  to  all.  His  name  is  indissolubly  associated  with 
all  the  events  of  importance  which  have  occurred  in  the 
last  decade. 

From  the  time  when,  a  mere  youth,  he  first  entered  public 
life,  down  to  the  moment  when  death  called  him  from  us, 
his  career  was  a  series  of  brilliant  successes.  As  solicitor- 
general,  judge,  president  of  conventions,  member  of  Con 
gress,  Speaker,  everywhere  and  at  all  times,  he  met  every 
obligation  and  discharged  the  duties  of  every  trust  com 
mitted  to  him  with  honesty,  fidelity,  and  ability.  Right 
here,  upon  the  floor  of  this  House,  was  the  scene  of  his 
greatest  triumphs — his  most  brilliant  achievements.  Cool, 


Address  of  Mr,  Tate.  119 

self-poised,  and  well-balanced,  he  could  always  husband 
his  resources  at  the  right  time  and  direct  his  energies  with 
the  best  possible  effect.  Never  did  he  develop  his  matchless 
powers  or  show  his  wonderful  resources  so  well  as  when 
leading  the  forlorn  hope  of  the  minority ;  amid  the  fire  and 
clash  of  party  contention  he  would  always  parry  the  blows 
of  the  opposition,  and  by  well-directed  aims  send  his  own 
darts  with  fatal  precision  into  the  heart  of  the  enemy.  He 
never  voluntarily  gave  offense,  and  frequently  disarmed 
opposition  by  his  kindness  and  urbanity.  Those,  however, 
who  met  him  in  debate  found  that  "there  were  blows  to 
take  as  well  as  blows  to  give. ' ' 

Some  men  may  have  surpassed  Mr.  CRISP  in  the  subtle 
forces  of  thought;  others  may  have  excelled  him  in  the 
divine  gift  of  eloquence;  still  others  may  have  been  his 
equal  in  soundness  of  judgment  and  the  judicial  fairness 
with  which  he  exercised  power,  and  perhaps  he  had  his 
peers  in  the  high  social  qualities  for  which  he  was  so  emi 
nently  distinguished,  but  men  possessing  all  these  high 
attributes  in  combination  are  rarely  found.  Mr.  CRISP 
possessed  them  all.  His  was  a  clean,  active,  incisive  intel 
lect.  He  was  a  fluent  and  eloquent  speaker,  an  upright  and 
impartial  judge,  an  able  and  faithful  Representative,  a 
ready  and  skillful  parliamentarian,  and  as  a  Speaker  of 
this  House  for  ability  and  fairness  he  goes  into  history  the 
peer  of  Blaine  and  Randall.  He  was  a  polished  and  courtly 
gentleman,  genial  in  manner  and  spirit  as  an  "incense- 
breathing  morn ' '  in  May,  a  bold  and  fearless  antagonist,  a 
faithful  and  confiding  friend,  and  more  than  this,  than 
these,  than  all,  he  was  that  "noblest work  of  God,  an  hon 
est  man. ' '  His  was — 

One  of  the  few,  the  immortal  names, 
That  were  not  born  to  die. 


I2O      Life  and  Character  of  Charles  Frederick  Crisp. 

Mr.  CRISP  sent  the  sunshine  of  joy  and  gladness  into  the 
hearts  of  those  who  came  in  contact  with  his  magnetic 
presence.  It  has  been  said  that  he  never  lost  a  friend  nor 
made  an  enemy.  Those  of  us  who  enjoyed  the  pleasure 
of  comradeship  with  this  golden-hearted  man,  who  luxu 
riated,  as  it  were,  in  the  bright  light  of  his  genial 
companionship,  can  attest  how  great  is  our  loss,  how  sad 
our  bereavement.  A  gentler,  kindlier  heart  never  beat 
within  a  human  breast.  Would  that  I  could  speak  of  him 
in  fitting  language  as  a  friend.  He  was  my  friend  in  all  that 
term  can  suggest,  and  my  personal  loss  is  greater  than  I  can 
tell.  I  loved  him  and  I  loved  to  follow  where  he  led.  But 
above  all  I  loved  to  sit  and  hold  sweet  converse  with  him. 

He  has  departed  from  among  us,  and  we  will  never  see 
his  like  again.  Silently  and  sorrowfully  he  was  laid  away 
in  the  bosom  of  the  Commonwealth  he  loved  so  well  and 
served  so  faithfully.  The  grief  of  thousands  of  stricken 
hearts  followed  his  funeral  train.  We  have  embalmed  him 
in  our  hearts  forever,  and  Georgia  continues  to  weep  upon 
the  new-made  grave  of  her  best  beloved  son.  Friend  of 
my  life — 

Farewell;  my  lips  may  wear  a  careless  smile, 

My  words  may  breathe  the  very  soul  of  lightness, 

But  the  touched  heart  must  deeply  feel  the  while 
That  life  has  lost  a  portion  of  its  brightness. 

Mr.  CRISP  was  ambitious,  "  that  glorious  fault  of  angels 
and  gods."  He  had  ambition  for  official  position  not- for 
its  empty  honors  and  perishing  emoluments,  but  for  the 
privilege  and  opportunity  it  gave  him  to  serve  his  country. 
His  ambition  was  neither  selfish  nor  inordinate.  He  was 
ambitious  to  do  the  most  good  within  the  compass  of  a 
life's  duration,  and  to  that  end  he  consecrated  the  best 
energies  of  his  great  mind  and  his  honest  heart.  He 


Address  of  Mr.  Tate.  121 

wanted  to  go  to  the  Senate,  the  sine  qua  non  of  every 
statesman's  ambition,  but  his  desire  to  attain  this  exalted 
station  did  not  overcome  his  fixed  purpose  to  serve  his 
country  where  he  could  do  his  country  most  good.  While 
we  can  not  say  of  him  what  Antony  said  of  Julius  Caesar, 
"I  thrice  presented  him  a  kingly  crown,  which  he  did 
thrice  refuse,"  yet  we  all  do  know  that  he  was  once 
presented  with  a  seat  in  the  American  Senate  and  that 
he  did  once  refuse  it,  because  his  friends  and  his  party 
thought  he  could  render  the  country  greater  service  by 
remaining  Speaker  of  this  House,  and  with  him  their 
wish  was  law.  He  was  assured  by  the  present  able  and 
patriotic  junior  Senator  from  Georgia  [Mr.  Bacon],  who 
was  at  the  time  an  aspirant  for  the  position,  that  if  he 
would  accept  the  appointment  to  the  office  of  Senator 
tendered  him  by  Governor  Northen,  made  vacant  by  the 
death  of  the  beloved  and  lamented  Colquitt,  he  would 
have  no  opposition  for  the  succession  before  the  legislature; 
therefore  his  acceptance  at  that  time  meant  the  fulfillment 
of  the  cherished  ambition  of  his  life.  Yet  he  made  the 
personal  sacrifice  for  the  public  good.  Some  men  are 
stimulated  to  great  achievements  by  the  love  of  glory, 
others  by  the  thirst  for  power,  but  the  sentiment  that 
absorbed  the  thought  and  thrilled  the  heart  of  Mr.  CRISP 
was  love  of  country. 

Breathes  there  the  man  with  soul  so  dead 
Who  never  to  himself  hath  said, 
This  is  my  own,  my  native  land ! 

The  greatest  heroes  of  the  world's  history  are  those  who 
fought -the  battles  against  self  and  conquered.  Mr.  CRISP 
did  this.  He  fought  this  fight,  he  kept  the  faith,  he  gained 
the  victory,  and  wears  the  crown. 


122      Life  and  Character  of  Charles  Frederick  Crisp. 

Pure  and  unselfish  patriotism  was  his  distinguishing  char 
acteristic. 

Mr.  Speaker,  Georgia,  ever  proud  of  the  achievements  of 
her  sons,  looked  upon  this  her  favorite  with  peculiar  pride 
and  fondness,  and  her  people,  unforgetful  of  the  sacrifices 
he  had  made  for  them,  with  a  unanimity  unsurpassed,  had 
named  him  for  the  highest  position  within  her  gift,  when 
his  great  heart  ceased  to  beat.  And  thus  this  light  was 
extinguished  in  the  very  blaze  of  his  greatest  political 
triumph  ;  he  reached  forth  his  hand  to  take  the  Senatorial 
toga  and  grasped  a  shroud. 

Mr.  Speaker,  as  the  stars  go  down  to  rise  on  some  fairer 
shore,  so  our  friend  passes  through  the  gloom  of  the  grave 
to  another  and  immortal  condition  of  life.  To  those  annealed 
in  the  blood  of  the  crucified  Galilean,  there  is  no  death. 

There  is  no  death  !     What  seems  so  is  transition  ; 

This  life  of  mortal  breath 
Is  but  a  suburb  of  the  life  elysian, 

Whose  portal  we  call  Death. 

Divine  revelation  flashes  from  the  sheen  of  the  cross  upon 
the  darkness  of  the  grave,  the  light  of  life,  and  anchors  the 
broken  heart  of  humanity,  by  the  cable  of  faith,  to  the  cher 
ished  truths  of  the  resurrection  and  immortality.  The  relig 
ion  of  Christianity  offers  the  only  rational  solution  of  the 
problems  of  life  and  death.  We  shall  meet  our  friend  and 
associate  again,  with  all  those  who  have  preceded  us. 

We  may  not  sunder  the  veil  apart, 

That  hides  from  our  vision  the  gates  of  day. 

We  only  know  that  their  barks  no  more 
May  sail  with  us  o'er  life's  stormy  sea ; 

Yet  somewhere,  I  know,  on  the  unseen  shore, 
They  watch  and  beckon  and  wait  for  me. 

Our  distinguished  colleague  and  beloved  friend  was  as 
felicitious  in  death  as  he  was  successful  in  life.  He  had 


Address  of  Mr.  Tate.  123 

lived  long  and  well  in  a  few  brief  years.  He  had  served  his 
country  well  and  faithfully  in  positions  of  high  trust  and 
great  honor.  He  was  in  the  high  tide  of  matured  intellect 
ual  manhood,  and  in  the  noonday  splendors  of  national  fame. 
Age  had  not  palsied  his  great  powers,  disappointment  had 
not  paled  the  star  of  his  hope,  nor  frozen  the  current  of  his 
love.  His  work  well  done,  his  fame  assured  as  part  of  his 
country's  history,  he  "wraps  the  drapery  of  his  couch  about 
him  and  lies  down  to  pleasant  dreams,"  with  every  flower 
on  his  tomb  wet  with  a  nation's  tears. 


124      Life  and  Character  of  Charles  Frederick  Crisp. 


ADDRESS  OF  MR,  LIVINGSTON. 

Mr.  LIVINGSTON.  Mr.  Speaker,  when  I  first  knew 
CHARLES  FREDERICK  CRISP,  he  was  a  very,  very  young 
man.  He  had  been  appointed  solicitor-general  of  one  of 
the  circuits  in  the  State  of  Georgia,  and  so  well  and  so 
faithfully  did  he  perform  his  duties  as  solicitor  that  when 
he  asked  an  appointment  to  the  judgeship  of  the  same  cir 
cuit,  he  received  it  at  the  hands  of  the  governor.  So  well 
did  he  perform  the  duties  of  judge — no  stain,  no  criticism, 
no  slander  was  cast  upon  him  or  his  administration — that 
at  the  end  of  his  first  term  he  was  elected  by  the  Georgia 
legislature  for  a  second  term. 

In  all  his  life  he  performed  his  duties  well.  Beginning 
without  much  of  this  world's  goods,  with  but  few  friends, 
and  with  a  limited  education,  he  learned  to  trust  implicitly 
in  that  old  adage  that — 

Honor  and  shame  from  no  condition  rise; 
Act  well  your  part,  there  all  the  honor  lies. 

From  his  early  manhood  until  the  day  of  his  death  he 
was  a  practical,  upright,  honest  official  in  every  capacity, 
whether  State  or  national. 

In  1883  we  had  a  very  noted  political  contest,  such  as  had 
not  taken  place  for  many  years  in  Georgia.  There  was 
opposition  to.  the  nomination  and  election  of  the  then  act 
ing  governor,  and  there  was  a  combination  to  beat  him. 
There  were,  I  believe,  four  or  five  candidates  who  were 
prominent.  Two  of  them  were  very  nearly  equal,  and  con 
trolling  almost  the  entire  vote  of  the  convention.  Mr. 


Address  of  Mr.  Livingston.  125 

CRISP  was  a  delegate  at  that  time  in  behalf  of  a  man  who 
had  but  13  votes  in  the  convention.  I  was  a  delegate,  and 
when  we  met,  the  great  question  to  solve  was  who  should 
act  as  the  permanent  president  of  that  convention.  Neither 
of  the  dominant  candidates  could  afford  to  allow  his  rival 
to  name  the  presiding  officer.  There  was  a  committee  of 
thirteen  appointed  to  suggest  a  presiding  officer,  and  I  am 
glad  that  I  had  the  pleasure,  as  a  member  of  that  committee, 
of  suggesting  Mr.  CRISP,  and  of  stating  in  the  committee 
room  that,  of  all  the  men  who  were  accredited  as  delegates 
to  that  convention  on  that  day,  Mr.  CRISP  was,  in  my  hum 
ble  opinion,  one  of  the  fairest-minded  and  most  impartial 
and  honest  men  in  the  convention.  The  suggestion  was 
accepted;  he  was  elected,  and  well  and  satisfactory  did  his 
selection  prove  to  all  interested  parties.  That  was  the 
beginning  of  his  political  life. 

Mr.  Speaker,  so  much  has  been  said  of  Mr.  CRISP  to-day, 
both  as  to  his  life  and  as  to  his  character,  and  the  day  has 
worn  so  far  away  and  there  are  so  many  others  who  are 
anxious  to  say  something  in  his  behalf,  that  I  shall  only 
consume  a  moment  or  two  more  of  time.  I  was  with  him 
much  during  the  last  year.  I  have  been  intimate  with 
him  for  many  years.  I  have  seen  him  in  sunshine  and 
under  the  clouds.  I  have  seen  him  in  prosperity  and  in 
adversity,  but  never  in  all  my  life  did  I  see  Mr.  CRISP  so 
sorely  tried  as  during  the  last  year.  When  he  thought  of 
entering  the  race  for  United  States  Senator  before  the  people 
of  Georgia,  the  proposition  was  that  this  question  should 
be  remanded  to  the  people,  by  primaries  that  should  select 
the  name  of  the  Senator,  believing  that  the  Georgia  legis 
lature  would  indorse  their  action.  It  is  well  remembered 
by  everybody  on  the  floor  of  the  House  that  a  very  strong 


126      Life  and  Character  of  Charles  Frederick  Crisp. 

man — a  young  man,  strong  in  mind  and  in  body — met 
him  on  the  hustings  in  Georgia,  contesting  his  claim  to 
the  Senatorship  on  account  of  his  financial  views. 

It  was  intimated  when  Mr.  CRISP  left  the  field  and  failed 
to  fill  the  engagements  on  hand,  that  it  was  for  other 
reasons  than  his  physical  condition.  He  was  criticised  by 
the  papers  at  home  in  some  instances  and  by  newspapers 
abroad.  No  one  knew  but  Mr.  CRISP  his  real  condition. 
No  physician  who  had  attended  him  or  prescribed  for  him 
knew  his  sufferings  and  the  peculiar  condition  physically 
under  which  he  labored.  He  withdrew.  He  submitted  to 
those  adverse  criticisms  and  talked  to  me  about  it  more  than 
once.  I  was  with  him,  Mr.  Speaker,  when  he  made  his 
last  speech  on  earth.  Called  by  the  people  of  Rome,  Ga., 
and  the  surrounding  country  last  fall  to  deliver  a  political 
speech,  he  had  a  magnificent  audience,  and  never  in  my  life 
did  I  see  a  speaker  who  nerved  himself  so  thoroughly 
to  do  his  full  duty  and  measure  up  to  his  full  capacity  as 
did  Mr.  CRISP  on  that  occasion.  It  was  painful  to  see  the 
effort  he  made  to  meet  the  expectations  of  the  vast  crowd 
that  was  hanging  upon  his  lips.  Yet  he  partially  failed;  it 
was  his  last  effort.  He  only  talked  for  a  few  minutes,  and 
had  to  sit  down.  There  were  but  few,  perhaps  including 
Mr.  CRISP  himself,  who  were  aware  of  how  fatal  the  malady 
was  or  would  be,  and  how  soon  it  would  take  him  from  his 
sphere  of  action. 

Permit  me  to  say  in  conclusion,  Mr.  Speaker,  that  his 
death  was  a  national  loss,  but  a  much  greater  loss  to 
Georgia,  and  to  his  home  circle  and  to  his  personal  friends 
an  irreparable  loss.  He  was  an  honest  man,  a  good  man, 
a  discreet  man,  a  wise  man,  a  kind  man,  a  liberal  man,  a 
manly  man. 


Address  of  Mr.  Lawson.  127 


ADDRESS  OF  MR.  LAWSON. 

Mr.  LAWSON.  Mr.  Speaker,  on  the  23d  day  of  October 
last  the  soul  of  CHARGES  FREDERICK  CRISP,  a  great  Geor 
gian  and  an  honored  member  of  this  body,  passed  through 
the  gates  of  death  into  the  presence  of  God.  On  that  day 
his  eyes  rested  for  the  last  time  on  the  autumnal  splendors 
of  his  Southern  skies.  At  such  a  season  life  is  precious. 
For  no  artist,  however  deep  his  inspiration  or  exalted  his 
imagination,  has  ever  conceived  a  picture  that  rivaled  in 
beauty  and  grandeur  the  surpassing  loveliness  of  forest  and 
landscape  when  "every  leaf  is  an  opal,  and  every  tree  a 
bower  of  varied  beauty. ' '  From  such  a  scene  the  soul  of 
Mr.  CRISP,  conscious  of  its  impending  voyage  and  with  no 
loved  one  absent,  fearlessly  launched  upon  the  serene  and 
placid  sea  of  eternity.  The  places  that  knew  him  once  will 
know  him  no  more  forever.  But  in  a  potent  sense  he  still 
lives — lives  in  the  virtues  which  he  illustrated  and  in  the 
successes  which  he  achieved.  These  are  invulnerable  to  the 
leaden  scepter. 

For  the  emulation  of  youth  a  nobler  example  than  our 
deceased  friend  can  scarcely  be  presented.  Ardent,  cour 
ageous,  patriotic,  and  loyal  to  his  adopted  State,  he,  at  the 
age  of  16  years,  grasped  the  sword  in  defense  of  her  sover 
eign  rights.  Through  four  years  of  fatigue,  hardships,  and 
untold  privations  he  followed  the  immortal  Lee,  the  incom 
parable  soldier  and  peerless  citizen,  amid  the  vicissitudes  of 
fortune,  to  his  final  defeat.  Then,  at  the  age  of  20  years, 
located  in  a  small  south  Georgia  town,  he  began  a  new  life. 
A  stranger,  without  either  fortune  or  ancestral  distinction, 


128      Life  and  Character  of  Charles  Frederick  Crisp. 

he  began  that  long  civic  combat  which,  protracted  through 
many  years,  ended  only  with  his  life.  There  was  nothing 
in  the  physical  aspect  of  the  country,  nor  in  its  social  and 
political  condition,  to  animate  the  buoyancy  of  his  youthful 
spirits  or  to  guide  him  to  an  elevated  plain  of  manhood  and 
usefulness.  Physical  desolation  all  around  and  a  thorough 
social  upheaval,  united  with  a  galling  oppression  from  with 
out,  tended  to  make  the  prospect  cheerless  and  hopeless. 
But  that  manly  courage  and  hardihood  acquired  in  his 
soldier  life  qualified  him  for  the  conquest  of  adverse  condi 
tions  and  for  his  final  triumph  over  all  discouragements. 

His  education  was  meager,  such  only  as  he  had  acquired 
in  the  common  schools;  yet  he  was  inducted  into  the  learned 
profession  of  the  law,  a  profession  which  in  his  Southern 
home  had  always  held  aloft  the  highest  standards  of  learn 
ing,  integrity,  and  honor.  But,  by  dint  of  native  ability, 
strenuous  effort,  and  unfailing  industry,  he  soon  won  a  firm 
foothold  in  the  profession,  and  was  promoted  to  the  office 
of  solicitor-general,  and  charged  with  the  prosecution  of  all 
infractions  of  the  criminal  laws  in  his  circuit.  His  able 
and  faithful  discharge  of  the  duties  of  his  office  is  evidenced 
by  the  fact  that  on  the  first  opportunity  thereafter  he  was 
elected  one  of  the  judges  of  the  superior  courts  of  the  State, 
courts  which  are  vested  with  the  highest  original  civil  and 
criminal  jurisdiction.  Responsibilities  of  the  most  grave 
and  onerous  nature  now  devolved  on  him — none  could  be 
more  so.  To  hold  the  scales  of  justice  evenly  between  the 
contending  animosities  and  passions  of  personal  strifes,  and 
to  determine  the  issues  of  life  and  death  impartially  accord 
ing  to  law,  is  a  responsibility  and  a  duty  more  exacting 
of  the  intelligence,  the  patience,  the  integrity,  and  the 
humanity  of  the  judge  than  can  otherwise  be  imposed. 


Address  of  Mr.  Lawson.  129 

Yet  Mr.  CRISP  bore  this  burden  with  fortitude,  with  a 
sound  understanding,  and  with  conscientious  loyalty  to 
justice  and  fidelity  to  the  State,  eminently  displaying  in 
all  emergencies  the  immovable  and  calm  equipoise  of  an 
impartial  magistrate. 

His  countrymen,  to  attest  their  approval  of  his  able 
judicial  administration,  transferred  him  to  a  sphere  of  less 
serious  responsibilities,  but  of  higher  honor  and  wider 
usefulness.  They  elected  him  to  the  Congress  of  the 
United  States.  I  will  not  undertake  to  portray  his  labors 
and  successes  here.  That  will  be  much  better  done  by 
his  colaborers  and  contemporaries. 

I  did  not  witness  any  part  of  his  Congressional  career 
until  he  was  chosen  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representa 
tives.  As  his  colleague,  and  representing  in  part  the  same 
people,  I  witnessed,  with  a  pardonable  exhilaration  of  feel 
ing,  the  industry,  aptitude,  ability,  and  fairness  with  which 
he  deported  himself  in  that  great  office.  Quick  to  perceive, 
prompt  to  act,  resolute  of  purpose,  calm,  composed,  and 
suave  in  manner,  he  was  a  model  officer.  The  stormy  ebul 
lition  of  partisan  fury  did  not  appall  him,  nor  did  sudden 
parliamentary  entanglements  disconcert  him.  Deliberate, 
just,  self-poised,  courteously  according  equal  consideration 
to  political  friend  and  foe,  he  pursued  the  even  tenor  of  his 
way.  His  personal  bearing,  and  the  unique  blending  of  his 
moral  and  intellectual  qualities,  fitting  him  well  and  equally 
for  action  or  for  the  council  board,  plainly  marked  him  for 
the  leadership  of  his  party  in  the  House.  His  sagacity,  if 
not  unerring,  was  of  the  keenest  description.  For  these  rea 
sons,  when  his  party  suffered  defeat,  and  when  he  descended 
from  the  chair  to  the  floor  of  the  House,  party  leadership 
was  accorded  him  spontaneously,  without  rivalries,  and 
H.  Doc.  255 9 


130      Life  and  Character  of  Charles  Frederick  Crisp. 

without  criticisms  or  comparisons.  And  though  he  knew 
that  disease  was  corrupting  the  fountains  of  life,  and 
though,  haggard  and  wasted  in  strength,  he  sometimes 
seemed  to  bend  beneath  the  burden,  he  resolutely  main 
tained  his  station  at  the  head  of  the  column.  -  Thus,  as 
lawyer,  jurist,  legislator,  Speaker,  and  statesman,  he  was  a 
conspicuous  figure  and  filled  a  large  space  in  the  public 
eye.  His  was— 

Th'  applause  of  listening  senates  to  command, 
And  read  his  history  in  a  nation's  eyes. 

Cut  down  in  the  midst  of  his  years,  in  the  prime  and  ma 
turity  of  manhood,  in  the  zenith  of  his  fame  and  usefulness, 
his  death  is  an  irreparable  loss  to  his  State  and  country. 

It  may  be  remarked  that  his  history  was  complete  as  it 
progressed.  He  advanced  step  by  step  from  one  degree  of 
honor  and  usefulness  to  a  higher,  but  every  inch  traversed 
was  thoroughly  conquered  ground,  and  he  did  not  need  the 
brilliancy  of  a  later  achievement  to  reflect  back  and  supple 
ment  or  amend  the  deficiencies,  the  errors,  or  the  failures 
of  an  earlier  period. 

One  event  in  his  political  career  stands  out  as  a  conspic 
uous  illustration  of  his  self-sacrificing  patriotism.  It  was 
well  known  to  his  friends,  and  a  fact  which  he  did  not  hesi 
tate  to  admit,  that  he  coveted  a  seat  in  the  United  States 
Senate.  That  seemed  to  be  the  goal  of  his  ambition,  the 
capstone  to  an  unbroken  series  of  political  conquests.  But 
when,  on  the  death  of  Senator  Colquitt,  the  governor  of 
Georgia  offered  to  fill  the  vacancy  in  the  Senate  by  the 
appointment  of  Mr.  CRISP,  he  patriotically  put  aside  the 
coveted  prize,  esteeming  the  services  he  was  performing 
as  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives  to  be  of  far 
greater  value  to  the  country  than  his  services  as  a  Senator. 


Address  of  Mr.  Lawson.  131 

His  countrymen  warmly  appreciated  and  applauded  his 
self-denial,  and  in  the  fullness  of  time,  when  he  could 
accept  the  office  without  a  sacrifice  of  duty,  they,  with 
practical  unanimity  in  a  primary  election,  indicated  him  as 
their  choice  for  the  Senatorship.  All  that  remained  to 
consummate  the  people's  choice  and  his  own  ambition  was 
the  vote  of  the  general  assembly,  which  would  have  been 
cast  before  the  passing  of  those  beautiful  October  days. 
Had  death  spared  him  a  few  days  longer,  an  admiring 
people  would  have  crowned  him  with  the  laurels  long 
coveted.  But  he  is  gone  ;  and  the  glittering  prize  which, 
like  ripened  fruit,  was  just  dropping  into  his  hands,  has 
fallen  to  the  lot  of  another. 

I  can  not  close  this  brief  sketch  without  some  reference 
to  the  private  and  unofficial  life  of  the  honored  dead.  I 
will  not  profane  the  sanctuary  of  his  domestic  life  by  any 
allusion  to  it  except  to  say  that  he  was  a  loving,  dutiful,  and 
indulgent  husband  and  father.  No  man's  life  is  faultless. 
No  man's  life  is  as  good  as  he  wishes  it  to  be  and  strives  to 
make  it.  Life  is  a  drama  of  alternate  defeat  and  victory. 
The  private  life  of  Mr.  CRISP,  leaving  out  the  foibles  and 
follies  that  human  nature  in  the  best  of  men  is  heir  to,  was 
untarnished  and  spotless.  No  one  ever  questioned  his 
integrity,  and  no  suspicion  or  slander  ever  cast  a  film  upon 
the  clear  surface  of  his  character.  It  was  above  reproach. 
His  affable  manners  and  singularly  democratic  habits  drew 
men  to  him  and  "grappled  them  with  hooks  of  steel."  No 
as  ersion  of  his  political  foes  ever  escaped  his  lips ;  they 
even  shared  the  beneficence  of  his  Christian  charity.  His 
bonhommie  was  perennial  ;  his  cheerfulness  a  never-failing 
stream.  It  was  a  delight  to  share  in  the  pleasantries  of  his 
sunny  disposition.  As  greatness  grew  upon  him  he  did  not 


13^      Life  and  Character  of  Charles  Frederick  Crisp. 

forget  his  early  and  less-favored  friends.     The  great  poet 

tells  us  that — 

'  Tis  a  common  proof, 

That  lowliness  is  young  ambition's  ladder, 
Whereto  the  climber  upward  turns  his  face ; 
But  when  he  once  attains  the  upmost  round, 
He  then  unto  the  ladder  turns  his  back, 
Looks  in  the  clouds,  scorning  the  base  degrees 
By  which  he  did  ascend. 

Not  so  with  Mr.  CRISP.  A  friend  once  gained  was  a 
friend  forever.  The  friends  of  his  early  days  were  the 
stancher  friends  of  his  last  days.  The  period  of  his  suffer 
ing  and  decline  was  wreathed  in  their  admiration  and  love. 
And  if  any  sacrifice  which  they  could  have  offered  could 
have  beaten  back  the  stealthy  and  relentless  approach  of 
the  grim  monster,  he  to-day,  strong  and  militant,  would  be 
an  active  leader  among  us. 

I  conclude  with  one  other  remark.  Death  came  to  him 
as  it  comes  to  but  few.  It  did  not  with  a  sudden  and  resist 
less  stroke  mercifully  cut  him  down.  It  did  not,  through 
wasting  disease,  always  nearing  the  inevitable  end,  assure 
him  that  recovery  was  impossible.  But  it  tantalized  him 
with  alternate  hope  and  dread.  Now  it  approached;  again 
it  receded;  but  the  dread  Reaper  was  ever  dimly  present. 
In  the  noisy  altercations  of  these  Halls,  in  the  privacy  of 
his  home,  in  the  council  chamber,  on  the  highway,  in  the 
hall  of  assemblies,  in  solitude,  in  society,  at  funerals  and 
at  marriage  feasts,  everywhere  and  always,  Death,  toying 
with  his  heartstrings,  mocked  him.  Whether  his  end  was 
near  or  far  off,  he  knew  not;  but  he  did  know  that  his  sleep 
less  enemy  was  inexorable  and  relentless.  For  months  he 
stood  near  and  listened  to  the  lashing  of  the  waves  upon 
the  eternal  shore  and  feared  not.  Surely  the  valiant  never 
taste  of  death  but  once. 


Address  of  Mr.  Morse.  133 


ADDRESS  OF  MR,  MORSE. 

Mr.  MORSE.  Mr.  Speaker,  at  this  late  hour  I  promise 
that  my  words  will  be  very  few.  The  great  dramatist  has 

said: 

All  the  world's  a  stage, 
And  all  the  men  and  women  merely  players. 

Of  this,  Washington,  with  its  ever-changing  life,  seems 
to  me  to  be  a  fit  illustration.  I  often  think,  as  I  ascend  the 
steps  of  this  Capitol  building,  of  all  the  men  who  have 
served  here  and  walked  these  streets,  ascended  these  steps 
and  had  their  little  day  of  honor,  fame,  and  pleasure,  and 
have  joined  the  silent  majority. 

CHARLES  FREDERICK  CRISP,  in  whose  honor  we  have 
met  here  this  afternoon,  like  all  the  rest,  is  but  an  illustra 
tion,  to  quote  from  Gray's  immortal  Elegy  in  a  Country 
Churchyard,  that — 

The  paths  of  glory  lead  but  to  the  grave. 

These  considerations  should  lead  us  to  look  away  to  that 
undiscovered  country,  should  lead  us  to  seek  for  honor  and 
treasure  laid  up  "where  neither  moth  nor  rust  doth  cor 
rupt,  and  where  thieves  do  not  break  through  nor  steal." 
How  it  should  lead  us  to  strive  for  that  incorruptible  crown 
of  glory  that  fadeth  not  away,  for  those  enduring  honors 
that  will  stand  when  the  marble  crumbles,  when  the  bronze 
turns  to  dust,  and  when  the  canvas  fades — will  stand  when 
the  elements  have  melted  with  fervent  heat  and  the  works 
thereof  are  burned  up. 

Mr.  Speaker,  to  know  Mr.  CRISP  was  to  love  the  man. 
I  disagreed  with  this  distinguished  statesman  upon  nearly 


134      Life  and  Character  of  Charles  Frederick  Crisp. 

every  political  question,  upon  economic  and  financial  ques 
tions,  but  I  am  here  to  bear  testimony  to  the  fact  that  I 
believe  he  was  a  thoroughly  honest  and  sincere  man.  I  am 
here  to  say  that  he  was  a  refined  and  courteous  gentleman ; 
and  I  am  here  to  say  that  he  bore  the  duties  of  that  great 
office  which  you  enjoy,  Mr.  Speaker,  and  whose  responsi 
bilities  you  know  so  well — I  am  here  to  say  that  he  bore 
those  great  honors  with  a  quiet  modesty  and  dignity.  Mr. 
CRISP  was  a  gentleman  in  the  widest,  broadest  sense  of 
those  words.  Shakespeare  says: 

The  evil  that  men  do  lives  after  them; 
The  good  is  oft  interred  with  their  bones. 

I  have  often  thought  when  reading  that,  that  he  spoke 
ironically.  I  think  exactly  the  opposite  is  true.  I  think 
we  love  to  recount  the  virtues  of  our  deceased  friends  rather 
than  their  failings  and  faults.  The  distinguished  gentle 
man  from  Pennsylvania  [Mr.  Dalzell]  has  said  that  Speaker 
CRISP  had  faults;  but  he  has  truly  and  justly  said  that  his 
virtues  far  outshone  them;  his  gentleness,  his  culture,  his 
urbanity  of  manner,  even  to  his  political  opponents  as  well 
as  his  friends,  was  a  marked  characteristic  of  this  great 
man,  who  now  sleeps  in  the  soil  of  his  own  loved  State, 
the  great  Empire  State  of  Georgia. 

Mr.  Speaker,  Mr.  CRISP  died  in  the  zenith  of  his  fame. 
He  died  at  the  post  of  duty,  as  one  should  wish  to  die. 
You  remember,  Mr.  Speaker,  when  the  surgeons  gathered 
around  Mr.  Garfield  in  the  depot  when  he  was  stricken 
down  by  the  vilest  assassin  that  ever  cursed  the  earth,  he 
asked  Dr.  Bliss:  "Doctor,  is  the  wound  mortal?"  And  you 
remember  the  answer  that  the  doctor  made.  Said  he:  "Mr. 
Garfield,  we  fear  the  worst."  And  that  great  man  said: 
"Doctor,  I  am  not  afraid  to  die."  Why  not?  Because  he 


Address  of  Mr.  Morse.  135 

was  at  the  post  of  duty.  One  of  my  illustrious  and  distin 
guished  predecessors,  who  for  sixteen  years  represented  in 
yonder  Hall  the  district  which  I  have  the  honor  to  repre 
sent — John  Quincy  Adams,  the  Old  Man  Eloquent — died  in 
yonder  Hall  in  1848.  He  died  as  he  lived — at  the  post  of 
duty,  like  this  man.  He  died  on  his  shield,  and  his  last 
words  were:  "This  is  the  last  of  earth.  I  am  content." 
Surely  the  place  where  a  statesman  would  wish  to  die! 

Some  of  the  oldest  people  who  live  in  my  country  will 
tell  you  that  their  grandparents  told  them  about  a  dark 
day.  It  occurred  on  the  igth  da}-  of  May,  1780.  It  began 
to  grow  dark  at  10  o'clock  in  the  morning,  and  at  noon  it 
was  so  dark  in  New  England  that  people  could  not  see  to 
read  out  of  doors.  Our  fathers  had  very  few  books  besides 
the  Bible,  and  in  that  book  they  read  that  God  had 
appointed  a  day  in  which  He  would  judge  the  world. 
Very  many  of  the  good  people  of  New  England  thought 
the  Day  of  Judgment  was  at  hand.  Indeed,  Mr.  Speaker, 
as  you  know,  the  strange  phenomenon  has  never  been 
explained.  The  only  explanation  ever  offered  was  that 
the  smoke  from  dense  forest  fires  in  the  West  met  a  dense 
fog  from  the  East.  At  any  rate,  on  the  igth  day  of  May, 
1780,  at  noonday  in  New  England  a  man  could  not  see  to 
read  out  of  doors.  This  dark  day  overtook  the  Connecticut 
house  of  assembly  in  session  ;  and  amid  profound  silence 
and  gloom  one  of  the  members  arose  in  his  place  and 
said : 

Mr.  Speaker,  it  is  evident  that  some  strange  and  wonderful 
providence  of  Almighty  God  is  upon  us,  by  which  we  can  not 
see  to  read  at  noon  time.  It  may  be,  sir,  that  the  Day  of  Judg 
ment  is  at  hand.  In  view  of  this  strange  and  wonderful  provi 
dence  of  God,  I  move  you,  sir,  that  the  Connecticut  house  of 
assembly  do  now  adjourn. 


136      Life  and  Character  of  Charles  Frederick  Crisp. 

There  was  another  member  of  the  house  of  assembly, 
whose  name  was  Abraham  Davenport,  and  he  was  a 
Quaker;  and  he  stood  up  in  his  place  and  opposed  the 
motion.  He  said: 

Mr.  President,  I  am  opposed  to  the  motion  to  adjourn.  I  am 
utterly  unable  to  explain  the  darkness.  It  may  be  that  some 
strange  and  wonderful  providence  of  God  is  upon  us.  It  may 
be,  as  my  brother  has  said,  that  the  Day  of  Judgment  is  at 
hand.  But,  sir,  as  I  know  of  no  better  place  to  be  overtaken  by 
death  and  the  judgment  than  at  the  post  of  duty,  I  move  you, 
sir,  that  the  candles  be  brought  in  and  the  act  be  read  again. 

It  was  done;  and  the  business  of  the  house  went  on. 

Now,  Mr.  Speaker,  I  have  faith  to  believe  that  if  you 
and  I,  like  CHARLES  F.  CRISP,  and  John  Quincy  Adams, 
and  James  Abram  Garfield,  and  Abraham  Davenport,  are 
found  at  the  post  of  duty,  in  the  largest  meaning  of  those 
words,  having  our  peace  made  with  God,  we  need  not  fear 
death  or  the  judgment.  Surely  this  man  died  at  the  post 
of  duty;  he  died  bravely  and  he  sleeps  well;  his  name  and 
his  memory  and  his  record  will  be  revered  by  his  country 
men  to  the  remotest  time.  Fare  you  well,  CHARLES  F. 
CRISP!  We  shall  see  you  no  more  on  the  shores  of  time. 
We  say  to  you  a  last  and  sad  farewell. 


Address  of  Mr.  Tucker.  137 


ADDRESS  OF  MR.  TUCKER. 

Mr.  TUCKER.  Mr.  Speaker,  in  the  death  of  CHARLES 
FREDERICK  CRISP  the  country  has  lost  a  valuable  states 
man,  the  Democratic  party  one  of  its  most  loyal  and  effi 
cient  leaders,  the  State  of  Georgia  one  of  her  most  devoted 
sons,  and  his  family  an  affectionate  husband  and  father. 
The  qualities  of  mind  and  traits  of  character  which  dis 
tinguished  him  in  this  Hall  have  been  amply  portrayed  as 
well  by  his  political  friends  as  by  his  adversaries.  They 
were  of  no  mean  caliber,  and  history  will  accord  to  Mr. 
CRISP  a  high  and  honorable  place  in  the  long  catalogue  of 
distinguished  American  statesmen. 

The  province  of  eulogy  too  often  runs  into  the  extrava 
gant;  but  a  just  tribute  to  our  friend  need  not  exceed  the 
bounds  of  truth  in  according  him  a  high  and  honorable 
position  among  the  great  leaders  of  his  party.  I  would  not 
claim  for  him  the  powers  of  analysis  of  a  Calhoun,  or  the 
ponderous  eloquence  of  a  Webster,  or  the  masterful,  impe 
rious  leadership  of  a  Clay,  or  the  brilliant  dash  of  a  Elaine; 
but  combining,  it  may  be  in  a  lesser  degree,  many  of  the 
strongest  qualities  of  each,  with  a  coolness  of  judgment  and 
equipoise  of  mind  which  has  rarely  been  equaled,  he  made 
available  his  powers,  and  all  of  them,  in  the  discharge  of 
public  duties,  as  effectively  as  any  man  I  have  ever  seen  in 
public  life.  If  he  was  not  so  great  a  logician  as  Mr.  Cal 
houn,  his  powers  of  logic  were  always  thoroughly  available, 
and  wielded  with  telling  force  against  his  adversary. 

If  he  lacked  the  highest  type  of  eloquence,  his  intense 
earnestness  in  debate  supplied  what  the  rhetorical  art  might 


138      Life  and  Character  of  Charles  Frederick  Crisp. 

have  suggested.  His  leadership  was  always  won  by  the 
arts  of  persuasion  rather  than  by  arbitrary  dogmatism.  He 
was  one  of  the  most  resourceful  as  well  as  forceful  men  in 
the  maintenance  of  his  position  in  debate  that  has  appeared 
in  this  Hall  for  years.  Few  men  possessed  the  power  of 
drawing  upon  their  resources  and  utilizing  their  every 
power  in  action  as  did  Mr.  CRISP. 

His  manners  were  simple,  unostentatious,  and  cordial. 
A  natural  playfulness  of  spirit,  united  with  a  dignity  and  a 
self-reliance  of  character,  repelled  none  who  sought  his 
counsel,  and  drew  the  closer  to  him  all  who  sought  his 
society.  He  did  not  hesitate  to  lend  his  ready  counsel  in 
molding  the  policy  of  his  party  nor  did  he  shirk  the  respon 
sibility  which  rested  upon  him  as  one  of  its  trusted  leaders. 
As  a  leader  on  the  floor  or  as  Speaker  he  was  always  bold, 
aggressive,  and  oftentimes  defiant.  The  elements  of  char 
acter  in  him  were  harmonized  in  a  certain  simplicity  of 
style  which  offended  no  man's  self-love  and  commanded  the 
respect  and  confidence  of  all. 

It  was  not  always  my  fortune  to  agree  with  him  as  to 
matters  of  party  policy,  and  in  the  memorable  fight  for  the 
Speakership  in  the  Fifty-second  Congress  I  felt  it  my  pub 
lic  duty,  against  my  personal  inclination,  to  advocate  the 
claims  of  another.  Such  action  on  my  part,  however,  so 
far  as  I  know,  never  created  any  breach  in  our  personal 
friendship. 

The  State  of  Virginia  has  always  felt  the  deepest  interest 
in  the  life  and  career  of  Mr.  CRISP.  In  those  days  which 
tried  men's  souls  he  freely  spilled  his  blood  on  her  soil, 
and  from  May,  1861,  until  May,  1864,  when  Virginia  was 
ua  looming  bastion  fringed  with  fire,"  he  mingled  with 
her  people,  enlisted  with  her  sons,  and  fought  by  their 


Address  of  Mr,  Tucker.  139 

sides.  As  a  soldier,  Mr.  CRISP  exhibited  the  highest  quali 
ties  of  excellence.  With  a  cheerful  temper,  he  bore  the 
privations  of  war  in  the  camp,  on  the  field,  or  on  the  march, 
and  he  was  ever  obedient  to  command,  and  ready  to  respond 
to  his  country's  call. 

He  enlisted  at  Luray,  in  the  Valley  of  Virginia,  in 
Company  K  of  the  Tenth  Virginia  Infantry,  while  his 
father  and  his  brother  Harry  enlisted  in  an  artillery  com 
pany  in  the  county  of  Shenandoah.  He  served  first  under 
Col.  S.  A.  Gibbons  in  the  brigade  of  the  gallant  Elzey, 
afterwards  commanded  by  Gen.  W.  H.  Taliaferro  (now 
Judge  Taliaferro),  of  Gloucester  County,  Va.,  and  subse 
quently  commanded  by  Gen.  George  H.  Stewart. 

In  speaking  of  his  services  as  a  soldier,  his  old  captain, 
Capt.  R.  S.  Parks,  of  Luray,  Va. ,  says  : 

In  the  spring  of  1862  our  regiment  was  transferred  from  Joe 
Johnston's  command  on  the  Rappahannock  to  Jackson's  com 
mand  in  the  Valley,  and  remained  in  that  command  until  the 
sun  set  at  Appomattox.  Most  of  the  regiment  was  captured 
with  Ed  Johnson's  division  in  the  "  bloody  salient "  on  the  nth 
of  May,  1864,  where  perhaps  occurred  the  fiercest  struggle  and 
more  blood  was  spilled  than  at  any  place  during  the  war. 
CRISP  was  captured  at  that  time  and  was  not  released  until 
after  the  war.  He  enlisted  at  the  age  of  16  years  as  a  private, 
and  was  second  lieutenant  when  lie  was  captured.  He  was 
quite  small,  not  disposed  to  be  corpulent,  as  he  grew  to  be  in 
after  life.  He  was  very  quiet  and  unobtrusive  ;  in  fact,  retiring 
in  his  manner ;  a  great  reader,  he  was  never  without  a  book. 
He  carried  one  in  his  knapsack  always,  if  he  had  one  (but 
"Jackson's  Foot  Cavalry"  did  not  like  to  carry  superfluous 
baggage),  or  in  his  blanket.  Often  when  the  regiment  was 
halted  to  rest  on  the  march,  he  would  immediately  sit  down 
and  read  from  his  book.  He  had  a  most  remarkable  memory, 
and  could  read  a  book  and  then  relate  everything  in  it,  giving 
in  many  instances  the  exact  language. 


140      Life  and  Character  of  Charles  Frederick  Crisp. 

Like  all  the  members  of  Company  K,  he  was  a  soldier  from 
head  to  foot,  for  no  man  ever  commanded  a  better  set  of  men 
or  harder  fighters  than  those  who  composed  that  company. 
Taps  for  "  lights  out "  have  been  heard  by  many  since  1865, 
and  one  by  one  they  are  passing  to  the  other  shore.  Each  one, 
so  far  as  I  have  seen  or  heard,  drew  the  drapery  of  death  around 
him  as  coolly  as  he  wrapped  himself  in  his  own  blanket  and  laid 
down  to  sleep  and  dream  on  the  field  of  carnage  to  await  the 
call  to  arms  at  early  dawn. 

In  the  infantry  there  was  little  chance  for  promotion  for  gal 
lant  sendee.  They  were  under  orders,  and  had  only  to  fight 
and  die  on  the  heights  of  Gettysburg,  in  the  tanglewood  of  the 
Wilderness,  or  the  swamps  of  the  Chickahominy.  CHARUK 
was  a  soldier  without  a  stain,  a  statesman  without  guile,  and  in 
war  and  peace  a  gentleman. 

The  people  of  Virginia,  in  common  with  those  of  the 
whole  country,  mourn  at  the  grave  of  their  friend,  defender, 
and  protector,  and  claim  the  privilege  through  her  Repre 
sentatives  here  of  placing  a  flower  upon  his  open  grave  in 
commemoration  of  their  lasting  gratitude  for  his  fidelity  to 
her  and  to  his  country. 


Address  oj  Mr.  Hooker.  141 


ADDRESS  OF  MR.  HOOKER. 

Mr.  HOOKER.  Mr.  Speaker,  it  was  my  pride  and  good 
fortune  to  enjoy  the  friendship  of  CHARLES  FREDERICK 
CRISP,  and  I  feel  a  better  man  for  having  been  allowed  that 
inestimable  privilege. 

The  more  than  ordinary  solemnity  of  this  sad  occasion 
deeply  impresses  me,  and  I  am  fully  cognizant  of  my  utter 
incompetency  to  add  anything  to  the  remarks  that  have 
already  been  so  feelingly,  justly,  and  appropriately  made; 
yet  I  am  unwilling  to  let  this  opportunity  pass  without 
paying  my  heartfelt  tribute  to  him  whose  memory  we  honor 
to-day. 

My  acquaintance  with  him  began  at  the  beginning  of  the 
Fifty-second  Congress,  when  he  had  just  been  honored  by 
his  party  as  its  candidate  for  the  Speakership,  and  I  look 
back  upon  my  short  political  career  and  my  heart  teems 
with  gratitude  to  our  lamented  friend  for  the  many  words 
of  counsel  and  encouragement  which  his  benevolent  and 
generous  nature  prompted  him  to  bestow  upon  those  who 
sought  his  aid  and  advice. 

Among  the  prominent  characteristics  of  this  leader  among 
men  I  would  call  attention  to  one  that  particularly  stands 
forth  when  observing  his  eminent  career,  and  that  is  the 
universal  and  kindly  consideration  which  he  extended  to 
the  younger  and  less  experienced  members  of  this  body. 

However  burdened  with  the  cares  of  a  busy  public  life, 
lie  was  always  ready  to  listen  to  the  appeals  of  his  younger 
colleagues  and  give  them  the  assistance  of  his  masterlv 


142      Life  and  Character  of  Charles  Frederick  Crisp. 

mind,  so  rich  in  experience,  so  trained  in  the  affairs  of 
legislation. 

Time  alone  will  disclose  the  true  wisdom  of  his  course; 
and  though  he  has  departed,  his  memory  will  be  treasured 
in  the  hearts  of  all  who  have  been  associated  with  this 
noble  character. 

He  was  a  careful  and  conscientious  legislator,  yet  so 
strong  in  his  convictions,  when  once  formed,  that  he  fol 
lowed  the  lines  of  duty  as  he  saw  them  with  untiring  zeal 
and  energy. 

His  pluck  and  perseverance  soon  gained  for  him  distinc 
tion,  and  the  party  whose  principles  he  espoused  quickly 
recognized  him  as  a  leader,  and  he  was  ever  afterwards  a 
prominent  figure  in  its  affairs. 

Strong  partisan  that  he  was,  he  never  forgot  the  rights  of 
others.  Honored  as  he  was  by  the  unbounded  confidence 
of  his  fellow-men,  he  never  denied  to  others  the  considera 
tion  due  them. 

Though  many  of  us  differed  with  him  on  the  leading 
political  issues  of  the  day,  yet  we  admired  this  progressive, 
resolute,  national  figure,  who  played  so  important  a  part  in 
many  of  the  leading  events  of  recent  years. 

Simple,  courteous  in  manner,  forcible  in  expression, 
fearless  in  conflict,  the  virtues  and  qualities  of  this  distin 
guished  servant,  faithful,  upright,  honorable,  raised  him  to 
the  pinnacle  of  high  esteem  in  the  minds  and  hearts  of  his 
fellow-countrymen. 

His  private  and  public  career  furnish  a  most  noble 
example  to  the  American  youth  endeavoring  to  attain 
laudable  ambition,  and  to  those  of  the  older  generation  who 
may  be  discouraged  and  disheartened  an  inspiration  to  an 
awakened  and  renewed  activity. 


Address  of  Mr.  Bartlett.  143 


ADDRESS  OF  MR.  BARTLETT. 

Mr.  BARTLETT.  Mr.  Speaker,  to  those  distinguished  gen 
tlemen  who  have  spoken  and  who  will  address  the  House 
on  this  sad  occasion,  and  whose  gifted  tongues  are  so  well 
aided  by  a  long  and  familiar  association  with  him  in  these 
Halls,  might  well  be  left  the  fit  memorial  of  this  our  late 
colleague  and  honored  friend.  To  me  the  effort  to  speak  of 
the  life  and  death  of  him  whose  memory  we  memorialize 
to-day  is  difficult  indeed,  for  my  tongue  almost  refuses  to 
convey  into  speech  what  my  heart  feels,  and  it  is  with  much 
distrust  of  myself  that  I  have  ventured  to  speak  at  all; 
indeed,  it  is  with  an  emotion  that  almost  stifles  utterance  I 
approach  the  altar  of  his  hallowed  memory  to  lay  upon  it 
my  simple  flower  of  feeble  tribute.  I  shall  not  attempt  to 
relate  in  detail  the  various  epochs  in  his  illustrious  career, 
nor  to  delineate  the  many  admirable  and  exalted  virtues 
he  possessed.  That  will  be  done  by  others  more  able  and 
eloquent  than  myself. 

Mr.  Speaker,  again  has  Death  invaded  this  House — again 
with  relentless  greed  has  borne  a  trophy  from  our  ranks. 
Again  we  pause  amid  the  busy  scenes  of  public  duties  to  pay 
tribute  to  the  dead.  This  time  the  insatiate  Archer  has 
hurled  his  shaft  with  unerring  and  fatal  precision  at  one  of 
its  brightest  and  most  shining  marks,  and  not  only  this 
House,  but  this  whole  Union,  has  lost  one  of  its  loveliest 
and  purest  ornaments.  The  mind  in  which  genius  and  real 
worth  had  already  erected  a  temple  to  fame  and  usefulness, 
and  which  but  awaited  the  opportunity,  already  at  hand,  to 
make  it  grander,  greater,  and  more  useful,  is  no  more;  the 


144      Life  and  Character  of  Charles  Frederick  Crisp. 

heart  in  which  the  noblest  virtues  dwelt  is  stopped  forever. 
The  Representative  of  his  people  on  this  floor,  who  was  soon 
to  bear  the  commission  of  his  State  as  a  member  of  the 
Senate  of  the  United  States,  has  ended  his  earthly  career 
and  taken  tip  his  abode  in  the  "silent  halls  of  death." 

With  bowed  heads  and  sorrowing  hearts,  but  with  sweet 
and  hallowed  recollections  of  his  life,  his  friendship,  and 
association,  we  stand  to-day  over  the  new-made  grave  of 
CHARLES  FREDERICK  CRISP. 

On  the  23d  of  October  last  the  reluctant  wires  conveyed 
to  the  world  the  sad  intelligence  that  Mr.  CRISP,  for  many 
years  a  member  of  this  House,  twice  its  presiding  officer, 
was  dead.  A  great  bereavement  fell  upon  my  State  and  upon 
the  whole  people — a  sudden  and  most  untimely  bereavement. 
The  blow  went  straight  to  the  heart  of  the  great  State  he 
represented  on  this  floor,  and  Georgia  laments  the  loss  more 
than  words  can  express.  ' '  The  flower  of  her  hope  withered ' ' 
because  the  new  and  highest  honor  in  her  gift,  prepared  for 
him  by  the  almost  unanimous  voice  of  her  people,  remained 
unbestowed  by  her  hands. 

He  died  when  but  little  advanced  beyond  the  prime  of  life. 
His  success  had  been  equal  to  that  of  the  favored  ones  of  the 
day.  He  left  us  at  a  time  when  the  past  yielded  a  great  deal 
for  gratifying  retrospection,  when  the  present  afforded  the 
richest  elements  of  happiness,  and  the  future  invited  him 
to  higher  honors  and  ampler  resources  of  enjoyment,  and 
assured  him  success  in  a  field  of  greater  usefulness  for  his 
State  and  the  people  of  this  great  Government.  But  all 
that  he  possessed,  all  that  he  hoped  for,  could  not  stay  the 
hand  of  the  great  destroyer. 

Mr.  CRISP  filled  many  important  positions,  and  he  met  and 
performed  the  duties  of  each  in  a  manly,  straightforward, 


Address  of  Mr.  Bartlett.  145 

honest  way.  As  a  young  volunteer  soldier  in  the  cause 
of  the  Confederate  States,  he  was  brave,  determined,  and 
obedient  to  authority.  He  was  a  member  of  the  legal 
profession,  a  profession  which  is  "as  ancient  as  magistracy, 
as  noble  as  virtue,  as  necessary  as  justice,"  and  which,  above 
all  others,  shapes  and  fashions  the  institutions  under  which 
we  live  ;  a  profession  "which  is  generous  above  all  others, 
and  in  which  living  merit  in  its  day  is  bestowed  according 
to  its  deserts. "  As  a  member  of  the  bar  of  the  southwestern 
circuit  of  Georgia,  a  bar  noted  at  all  times  for  the  learning 
and  ability  of  its  members,  he  soon  forced  his  way  to  the 
front  rank,  and  at  an  early  period  after  entering  practice  was 
appointed  solicitor-general  of  that  judicial  circuit. 

As  a  lawyer,  while  he  always  represented  the  interest  of 
his  client,  he  never  undertook  to  mislead  judge  or  jury  by 
specious  sophistry,  but  he  adhered  to  the  same  scrupulous 
sincerity  in  his  advocacy  of  his  client's  cause  which  he 
observed  in  the  other  transactions  of  life.  As  prosecuting 
officer  for  the  State,  while  he  fearlessly  pursued  the  viola 
tors  of  the  law,  no  innocent  man,  however  poor  or  humble, 
was  permitted  to  suffer. 

He  was  judge  of  the  superior  court  of  his  State,  the  court 
of  the  highest  jurisdiction,  other  than  the  supreme  court 
of  the  State,  for  the  correction  of  errors  of  law.  Though 
quite  a  young  man  when  he  was  made  judge,  and  with 
somewhat  limited  experience  at  the  bar,  he  soon  proved 
himself  to  be  an  ideal  judge.  He  was  patient  and  courte 
ous,  not  given  to  that  vice  possessed  by  some  judges,  first  to 
find  that  which  he  might  in  due  time  have  heard  from  the 
bar.  He  never  met  the  case  halfway  nor  gave  occasion 
to  parties  to  say  their  counsel  or  proofs  were  not  heard. 
His  integrity  was  above  even  suspicion,  and  though  the 
H.  Doc.  255 10 


146      Life  and  Character  of  Charles  Frederick  Crisp. 

judgment  may  have  been  erroneous  at  times,  the  counsel 
and  the  parties  knew  that  the  law  had  been  pronounced  as 
he  believed  it  to  be — for  at  last,  above  all  things,  integrity 
is  the  portion  and  proper  virtue  of  a  judge. 

Mr.  CRISP'S  intellectual  excellence  and  power  were  due 
to  his  very  extraordinary  common  sense  and  an  innate  con 
trolling  impulse  to  know  and  do  what  was  right.  His  mind 
was  a  distinctly  judicial  mind;  his  education  was  by  no 
means  thorough,  because  the  years  of  his  early  youth  were 
spent  in  the  Confederate  Army,  and  the  time  usually  de 
voted  to  education  was  given  in  defense  of  the  South  and 
her  cause.  When  he  was  appointed  judge,  he  had  had  little 
experience  at  the  bar,  and  that  only  as  solicitor-general; 
yet  when  he  was  appointed  judge,  he  soon  took  rank  among 
the  ablest  of  our  judges,  and  became  and  was  regarded  one 
of  the  best,  if  not  the  best,  in  Georgia.  His  charges  to  the 
juries  were  models  of  clearness  and  directness  of  speech. 
He  always  udug  deep  for  the  justice  of  the  case,"  and 
when  found,  permitted  no  technicalities  to  defeat  it.  He 
belonged  to  that  class  of  lawyers  and  judges  who  rely  upon 
their  clear  perception  of  what  is  just  and  right  and  true 
rather  than  upon  books  and  cases — more  upon  principle 
than  precedents — 

Juvat  accedere  fontes. 

His  mind  was  preeminently  practical,  and  his  oratory  was 
in  admirable  keeping  with  his  strong  natural  sense.  Ho 
invariably  spoke  for  use,  and  never  for  display.  Mr.  CRISP 
was  of  a  most  gentle  and  kindly  disposition  ;  he  was  an 
amiable  man ;  the  law  of  love  dwelt  in  his  heart,  and  the 
"milk  of  human  kindness"  mingled  in  his  blood.  His 
manners  were  the  most  bland  and  agreeable,  and  this, 
added  to  the  intuitive  quickness  of  his  mind,  exuberant 


Address  of  Mr.  Bartlett.  147 

and  good  temper,  his  devotion  to  the  truth,  and  attachment 
to  his  friends  made  him  the  favorite  he  was  with  his  breth 
ren  at  the  bar,  his  associates  in  this  House,  and  the  public. 
Though  ambitious  to  be  distinguished  and  useful,  he  was 
not  in  the  slightest  degree  selfish.  Those  who  did  not 
know  him  well  or  understand  him  might  have  supposed 
that  he  was  always  on  the  alert  to  make  friends  for  his 
political  purposes  ;  but  the  truth  was  he  was  so  broad,  so 
catholic  in  his  kindness  and  gratitude,  that  it  was  perfectly 
natural  for  him  to  be  more  than  merely  courteous  and 
polite  ;  it  was  perfectly  natural  for  him  to  compliment  all 
with  whom  he  came  in  contact  with  his  attentions  and 
courtesy. 

And  thus  he  bore  without  abuse 
The  grand  old  name  of  gentleman. 

True,  indeed,  it  is  we  can  say  of  Mr.  CRISP  that  he  was 
distinguished  in  the  humbler  walks  of  life  by  his  devotion 
to  family  and  friends,  by  his  simplicity  in  manner  and 
speech,  and  a  warm  welcome  to  all  who  approached  him. 

His  was  a  soul  of  honor  everywhere, 
That  to  ignoble  actions  scorned  to  bend ; 

True  to  his  trust  in  friendship's  faith,  he  ne'er 
Forgot  a  favor  or  forsook  a  friend. 

He  possessed  in  a  degree  that  is  worthy  of  emulation  by 
us  all  "that  humanity  that  meets  in  every  man  a  brother; " 
that  sympathy  which  enters  with  warmth  into  the  feelings  of 
others;  that  friendship  which  glows  with  generous  emotions 
and  binds  us  to  those  we  love  with  most  indissoluble  ties; 
that  charity  that  puts  on  every  dubious  action  and  appear 
ance  the  most  favorable  interpretation;  that  philanthropy 
that  feels  with  quickness  the  distresses  of  others,  and  that 
spirit  of  justice  that  accords  to  all  their  due. 

Of  his   services   in   the    Hall   of  Congress  others  have 


148      Life  and  Character  of  Charles  Frederick  Crisp. 

spoken,  and  I  will  not  endeavor  to  say  more,  except  that  as 
a  national  character  his  fame  stands  out  before  the  world 
preeminently  great.  A  man  of  broad,  conservative  views, 
honest  convictions,  zealous  in  patriotic  endeavor,  courage 
ous  in  the  defense  of  right,  gentle,  modest,  and  merciful, 
he  stood  above  his  compeers  a  statesman  of  the  nation 
and  defender  of  the  South  and  her  people.  He  was  never 
recreant  to  a  single  trust.  His  love  for  home,  his  love  for 
Georgia  and  for  the  Union,  and  his  bold  stand  for  his  people 
against  oppression  of  every  character  have  won  for  him  a 
place  in  the  hearts  of  his  countrymen  and  among  the 
imperishable  names  in  the  Halls  of  Congress,  where  he  was 
the  peer  of  his  ablest  opponent. 

It  may  be  and  is  true  that  he  did  not  possess  that  brilliant 
genius  that  marks  a  meteoric  fame;  but  his  was  that  worth 
and  ability  that  with  steady  glow  grew  brighter  as  it  swept 
into  the  sphere  of  usefulness.  Though  he  has  gone  from 
among  us,  though  his  warm,  sympathetic  heart  will  beat 
no  more,  and  though  his  body  is  beyond  mortal  view,  his 
name  and  fame  are  written  among  that  constellation  of  the 
great  men  of  the  South  and  of  this  Union,  where  it  will 
live  on  and  on  through  the  life  of  the  Republic. 

The  great  beauty  of  Mr.  CRISP'S  character  was  his  con 
stant,  tender,  loving,  and  enthusiastic  devotion  to  his  wife 
and  children.  His  family  life  was,  after  all,  his  chiefest 
grace.  With  a  tender  and  gentle  courtesy  and  with  a  lov 
ing  nature,  he  lavished  his  heart's  best  gifts  on  her  whom 
God  gave  to  him,  and  with  a  fond  father's  love  and  devo 
tion  he  cherished  the  children  who  grew  up  around  him. 
No  change  that  years  and  sickness  wrought  brought  any 
change  in  the  gentleness,  care,  and  love  that  were  bestowed 
upon  the  wife.  Though  sickness  and  affliction  had  made 


Address  of  Mr.  Bartlett.  149 

the  wife  almost  an  invalid,  yet  upon  her  and  to  her  he 
always  bestowed  all  gentleness,  all  care,  all  devotion.  To 
him,  indeed,  the  afflicted  wife  seemed  "dearer  than  the 
bride." 

But  neither  his  fame  as  a  lawmaker  nor  love  of  his  people 
nor  the  devotion  and  prayers  of  his  loved  one  could  stay  the 
hand  of  the  great  destroyer.  Silent  and  sure  and  remorse 
less,  death  heeds  neither  youth  nor  age;  genius,  learning, 
poverty,  nor  wealth;  the  tears  of  relatives  and  friends,  nor 
the  cold  indifference  of  strangers.  "  All  equally  the  uni 
versal  reaper  gathers  to  his  ever-filling  yet  ever  unfilled 
garner — the  tomb." 

On  a  calm,  still  Sabbath  day,  at  deep  twilight,  with  hands 
of  reverent  love,  we  laid  him  in  the  bosom  of  the  universal 
mother,  by  the  side  of  two  of  his  children  who  had  gone 
before,  there  to  rest  under  Georgia's  soil,  beneath  Southern 
skies  and  the  city  he  loved  so  well  and  the  section  he  served 
with  so  constant  fidelity;  there,  where  the  shapely  shafts  of 
Parian  white  tell  of  the  peace  within,  where  the  everlasting 
hills  uplift  their  rugged  crests  to  catch  the  first  ray  of  the 
morning  sun,  symbols  to  the  eye  of  faith  of  the  glorious 
coming  of  the  new  dawn ;  there,  in  the  company  of  son  and 
daughter,  he  awaits  the  final  destiny  of  greatness. 

What  a  noble  example  has  Mr.  CRISP  set  to  the  young 
men  of  his  State,  of  this  great  Union,  of  diligence  in  busi 
ness,  of  truth  and  devotion  to  principle  and  justice,  honesty 
and  uprightness  in  all  his  conduct  toward  his  fellow-men 
and  in  public  life,  which  is  the  basis  of  our  social  connec 
tions.  This  was  the  means  by  which  he  achieved  success 
in  life;  and  here  is  an  example  on  which  our  young  men 
should  be  proud  to  form  themselves,  an  example  that  refutes 
"the  dull  maxims  of  idleness  and  profligacy,"  and  points 


150      Life  and  Character  of  Charles  Frederick  Crisp. 

out  the  real  road,  and  the  only  highway,  in  a  Republic  to 
honor,  fortune,  and  fame. 

I  utter  no  idle  words  when  I  say  for  the  people  of  Georgia 
that,  "living,  we  all  loved  him;  dead,  we  will  cherish  his 
memory  in  our  innermost  hearts. ' ' 

His  virtues  he  bequeathed  us,  that  we  yet 
May  meet  him  in  a  lovelier  land  than  this, 

Where  darkness  is  unknown,  suns  never  set, 
And  sorrow  never  comes,  but  all  is  bliss. 

Mr.  Speaker,  I  append  as  part  of  my  remarks  the  account 
of  the  funeral  services  had  at  the  church  in  Americus  on 
October  25,  1896,  and  the  funeral  oration  delivered  by  his 
old  army  commander,  that  distinguished  Georgia  divine, 
Gen.  C.  A.  Evans,  the  old  commander  of  the  "Stonewall 
Brigade." 

The  church  was  reached  at  2.30  p.  m.,  around  which  had 
assembled  another  vast  crowd.  It  is  a  frame  building  of  quaint 
architecture.  The  vestibule  has  two  large  octagonal  columns, 
back  of  which  is  a  deep  recess.  Round  these  two  massive  sup 
ports  were  entwining  long  folds  of  black  crape,  from  chapiter 
to  plinth.  Broad  steps,  the  entire  width  of  the  church  front, 
led  up  from  a  gentle  slope  to  the  vestibule.  The  church  is 
embowered  in  a  grove  of  oaks,  which  is  inclosed  by  an  old 
fence.  The  very  place  has  an  air  of  solemnity;  but  the 
occasion  gave  a  deeper  funereal  aspect  to  the  church  and 
surroundings. 

VIEWED   THE    REMAINS. 

An  hour  was  allotted  to  those  who  desired  to  have  a  last  look 
at  their  friend  and  townsman.  A  single-file  procession  began, 
and  the  entire  time  was  consumed  in  this  sad  privilege.  The 
face,  so  familiar  in  life  to  all  the  people  of  Americus,  still  bore 
the  same  calm,  peaceful  expressions  that  had  won  the  hearts 
and  esteem  of  all  who  knew  him.  Pale  though  it  was,  still  the 
pallor  of  death  had  not  robbed  it  of  serenity  nor  of  its  former 
lifelike  semblance.  Though  his  last  words  were,  "Oh,  what 


Address  of  Mr.  Bartlett.  151 

pain! "  the  features  bespoke  that  calm  resignation  to  God's  will 
and  the  trust  he  had  placed  in  his  Creator's  promise  of  salva 
tion.  Thus  the  people  saw  him,  and  thus  his  memory  will  be 
cherished. 

The  bells  of  the  city  were  still  pealing  their  requiem  when 
the  hour  for  the  last  sad  rites  arrived.  The  casket  rested  on  a 
bier  in  front  of  the  chancel,  buried  in  beds  of  rarest  flowers. 
The  pulpit  and  other  places  were  covered  with  floral  emblems, 
donated  by  admirers  of  the  deceased. 

While  the  people  were  gathering  into  the  church,  the  organ 
in  softest  notes  pealed  forth  a  funeral  dirge.  After  this  solemn 
rendition  the  choir  sang,  ' '  There  is  rest  for  the  weary, ' '  so  feel 
ingly  that  many  of  the  congregation  shed  tears. 

Rev.  T.  M.  Christian,  of  the  First  Methodist  Church,  then 
read  the  one  hundred  and  third  psalm,  after  which  Rev.  Leroy 
Henderson,  pastor  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  read  the  thir 
teenth  chapter  of  ist  Corinthians.  Then  Rev.  Mr.  Turpin, 
of  the  First  Baptist  Church,  offered  the  following  prayer : 

"  O  God,  beneath  whose  throne  Thy  people  in  all  ages  have 
dwelt  secure,  regard  us  in  great  compassion,  we  beseech  Thee, 
for  Thy  hand  hath  touched  us. 

' '  O  Thou  who  makest  sore  and  bindest  up,  draw  us  with  the 
cords  of  Thy  love,  for  we  are  sorely  smitten  before  Thee. 

' '  Look  in  mercy  upon  a  nation  whose  citizens  are  saying  one 
to  another :  '  Know  ye  not  that  there  is  a  prince  and  a  great  man 
fallen  this  day  in  Israel  ? ' 

' '  May  the  great  loss  we  have  sustained  serve  to  rebuke  the 
bitterness  of  party  spirit  and  to  calm  the  turbulent  passions  of 
the  people. 

' '  Visit  with  Thy  salvation  our  public  servants  gathered  here 
from  different  sections  of  our  State  and  country,  and  profitably 
remind  us  all  that  'the  paths  of  glory  lead  but  to  the  grave.' 
Help  us  to  remember  '  what  shadows  we  are  and  what  shadows 
we  pursue.' 

"Bless,  we  implore  Thee,  our  community,  which  so  deeply 
mourns  the  loss  of  her  distinguished  citizen,  for  we  were  accus 
tomed  to  lean  upon  his  words,  and  are  fain  to  cry  out: 

"  O  fall'n  at  length  that  tower  of  strength 
Which  stood  four-square  to  all  the  winds  that  blew! 


152       Life  and  Character  of  Charles  Frederick  Crisp. 

"Lord  God  of  all  comfort,  bind  up  the  broken  hearts  of  this 
family  circle,  whose  bitter  grief  would  almost  make  them  say, 
'  Behold  and  see  if  there  is  any  sorrow  like  unto  our  sorrow.' 

' '  Strengthen  with  Thy  might  in  the  inner  man  Thy  vener 
able  servant,  as  he  receives  back  under  his  fatherly  protection 
to-day  the  daughter  who  in  the  days  of  her  youth  so  confidingly 
gave  her  heart  to  him,  who  became  so  worthy  of  her  unfaltering 
trust,  but  who  has  now,  alas,  been  parted  from  her. 

"We  invoke,  O  God,  Thy  tenderest  mercies  upon  our  sister. 
O  Thou  who  art  the  light  of  the  world,  abide  with  her,  for 
Thou  hast  taken  away  from  her  the  light  of  her  eyes.  May 
Thy  everlasting  arms  be  underneath  her,  and  do  Thou  comfort, 
sustain,  and  keep  her  as  she  sighs — 

"  For  the  touch  of  a  vanish'd  hand, 
And  the  sound  of  a  voice  that  is  still. 

"  Be  merciful,  O  L,ord,  to  all  the  members  of  the  household. 
Sanctify  to  the  bereaved  sons  and  daughters  their  deep  distress. 

' '  lyook  down  with  Thine  all-pitying  eye  upon  Thy  young 
servant,  who  so  tenderly  leaned  upon  her  father's  bosom,  and 
who  was  such  a  joy  to  his  heart.  Hold  not  Thy  peace  at  her 
tears.  Lord  God,  bless  these  manly  boys,  and  may  the  mantle 
of  their  father  fall  upon  them. 

"We  praise  thee,  O  God,  that  wre  'sorrow  not  as  those  who 
have  no  hope.'  We  thank  Thee  for  the  belief  of  Thy  servant 
who  has  finished  his  course  in  those  Holy  Scriptures  which  are 
able  to  make  us  wise  unto  eternal  life,  and  for  his  simple  trust 
in  the  Redeemer  of  the  world.  And  we  thank  Thee  that 
throughout  his  public  career  he  ever  '  wore  the  \vhite  feather  of 
a  blameless  life. '  For  Thou  hast  taught  us  to  ask:  '  Who  shall 
ascend  into  the  hill  of  the  L,ord  or  who  shall  stand  in  His  holy 
place?'  and  Thou  hast  said:  'He  that  hath  clean  hands  and 
a  pure  heart;  who  hath  not  lifted  up  his  soul  unto  vanity,  nor 
sworn  deceitfully.'  Glory  be  to  God  for  'the  hope,  the  blessed 
hope,  when  days  and  years  are  o'er,  we  all  shall  meet  in 
Heaven,'  where — 

'  The  saints  of  all  ages  in  harmony  meet, 
Their  Saviour  and  brethren  transported  to  greet, 
While  the  anthems  of  rapture  unceasingly  roll, 
And  the  smile  of  the  Lord  is  the  feast  of  the  soul, 


A  ddress  of  Mr .  Ba  rtlett.  1 5  3 

through  Jesus  Christ,  who  was  delivered  for  our  offenses,  and 
was  raised  for  our  justification.     Amen." 

The  choir  then  sang,  "We  shall  sleep,  but  not  forever."  A 
stillness  akin  to  death  impressed  the  solemnity  of  the  occasion 
upon  every  heart.  The  bereaved  ones  sat  near  the  casket,  hav 
ing  the  sympathy  of  their  friends  from  every  section. 

THE    FUNERAL   ORATION. 

A  moment  of  silence,  and  Georgia's  noble  old  soldier  and 
Mr.  CRISP'S  warmest  and  truest  friend,  Gen.  Clement  A.  Evans, 
stood  in  the  presence  of  the  dead  to  pay  a  tribute  to  his  unblem 
ished  life  and  express  sorrow  at  his  early  death.  Following  is 
the  oration: 

GENERAL  EVANS 'S  ORATION. 

A  great  bereavement  has  befallen  a  whole  people — a  sudden, 
sad,  and  most  untimely  bereavement.  The  strong,  tender  ties 
which  bind  men  together  in  the  closest  relations  of  human  life 
are  sundered.  I  say  most  untimely,  in  reverent,  humble  sub 
mission  to  the  good  will  of  Almighty  God.  Death  aimed  his 
shaft  at  the  brightest  mark  which  for  the  moment  shone  upon 
the  public  field.  With  startling  emphasis  the  quick  stroke,  ring 
ing  throughout  the  State,  announced  the  imperial  authority  of 
the  insatiate  archer  to  strike  down  the  most  exalted  human  fig 
ure  as  surely  and  easily  as  to  bring  a  sparrow  to  the  ground. 

Our  State  takes  this  blow  to  heart,  for  it  has  cut  off  her  beloved 
son  in  his  prime,  and  she  laments  the  loss  as  Jacob  mourned  for 
Joseph.  Her  pride  is  wounded  to  the  quick,  for  in  him  she  had 
gloried  as  a  valiant  supporter  of  her  fame.  The  flower  of  her 
hope  withereth  because  the  new  and  lustrous  honor  prepared  for 
him  by  her  sovereign  will  remains  unbestowed  by  her  hands. 
To-day  Georgia  embodies  the  sorrow's  of  a  great,  sympathetic 
people,  and  by  every  token  tells  that  a  whole  State  can  feel  a 
common  grief.  Using  the  language  of  another, ' '  We  expect  the 
sun  to  go  down  in  the  evening,  we  expect  the  flower  to  wither 
in  the  fall,  we  expect  the  stream  to  be  frozen  in  the  winter,  but 
that  the  sun  should  go  down  at  noon ,  that  the  flower  should 
wither  in  the  summer,  that  the  stream  of  life  should  be  frozen 


154      Lift  and  Character  of  Charles  Frederick  Crisp. 

before  the  chill  of  age  had  come  upon  it,  is  a  reflection  that 
saddens  the  soul  in  man. ' ' 

It  is  my  sad  duty  in  the  present  ministrations  of  this  sanctuary 
to  give  some  expression  to  this  common  sentiment  and  to  speak 
of  a  noble  life  so  thoroughly  known  as  not  to  require  minute 
description. 

It  is  commonly  commented  on  that  the  career  of  Mr.  CRISP 
was  a  steadily  ascending,  uninterrupted  rising  from  the  first  level 
on  the  shore  line  of  a  citizen's  duty,  upward  from  grade  to  grade, 
until  he  had  reached  that  lofty  table-land  where  all  supreme 
distinctions  become  possible.  Such  a  career  illustrates  the  free 
course  laid  open  by  the  peculiar  principles  of  our  American  Union 
to  honorable  aspiration,  as  well  as  the  wisdom  of  our  political 
laws,  which  give  to  the  people  the  privilege  of  a  wide  range  in 
selecting  their  representatives  and  rulers.  Without  special  pres 
tige,  without  fortune,  without  the  favoring  gale  of  association 
formed  by  residence,  and  beginning  business  life  obscurely  in  a 
little  Georgia  town  as  a  returned  soldier — a  youth  of  20 — he 
enters  on  the  work  of  life  amidst  the  unfavorable  conditions  that 
prevailed  in  1865  throughout  this  Southern  land.  The  reflec 
tion  has  interested  me  personally  that  at  this  precise  period  we 
were  not  a  day's  ride  on  horse  apart,  both  just  returned  from  the 
same  scenes,  the  same  fields,  possessing  the  same  spirit,  and  look 
ing  alike  landward  from  the  shore  line ;  behind  us  the  sea  where 
a  nation  had  been  wrecked ;  before  us  an  unknown  wilderness 
of  political  possibilities. 

It  is  not  on  this  warp,  however,  I  would  weave  the  suggestive 
event  of  his  nobly  successful  life,  but  instead  thereof  I  would 
point  the  young  men  of  the  State  to  the  clean  truth  that  Mr. 
CRISP  attained  his  fame  by  industrious,  honorable,  and  patriotic 
discharge  of  the  duties  devolved  upon  him  from  time  to  time. 
Few  public  men  in  Georgia  have  gained  great  distinction  by 
their  sole  reliance  upon  the  adventitious  aid  of  fortune  and 
ancestral  name.  That  illustrious  roll  which  we  are  proud  to  call 
is  answered  by  a  multitude  of  noble  men  who  overcame  disad 
vantage  by  the  sweat  of  the  brow,  the  throb  of  the  brain,  the 
tension  of  nerve,  the  pulse  of  heart — by  men  who  "  stopped  the 
mouths  of  lions  and  quenched  the  violence  of  fire;"  by  men  who 
patiently  waited  while  they  earnestly  worked  out  their  manifest 


Address  of  Mr.  Bartlctt.  155 

destiny,  and  who,  in  a  heroic  scorn  of  obstacles,  achieved  great 
ness  in  all  those  various  departments  of  human  endeavor  open  to 
all  men  through  the  regulated  liberties  of  our  free  land.  Ambi 
tion  requires  no  liaison  with  corruption  in  order  to  attain  a 
glorious  fame.  The  path  to  human  glory  should  be  as  "the 
path  of  the  just  that  groweth  brighter  unto  the  perfect  day." 
In  the  battle  of  life  the  aspirant  for  fame  should  indeed  be  a  hero 
in  the  strife,  and  if  in  the  encounter  he  should  go  down,  let  it  be 
said  of  him  at  the  roll  call  of  human  names,  ' '  He  died  on  the 
field  of  honor  ! ' ' 

The  life  of  Mr.  CRISP  as  a  lawyer  is  above  reproach.  After 
a  year  of  preparation  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar,  and  then  came 
on  six  years  of  that  experience  which  brings  discouragement  to 
many  young  barristers  and  during  which  some  unhappily  pre 
destinate  their  total  failure.  But  baffling,  rather  than  being 
baffled,  and  seizing  opportunities  as  they  moved  within  the  circle 
of  his  grasp,  and  rising  by  gradations  which  demanded  and  were 
met  by  the  toil  that  gains  ascensions,  the  young  lawyer  of  Ella- 
ville  became  the  solicitor-general  of  his  judicial  circuit,  and  after 
four  years'  experience  rose  by  appointment  and  elections  to  an 
honorable  and  responsible  position  upon  the  bench  of  the  supe 
rior  court  of  Georgia. 

Tested  in  these  offices  of  delicate,  difficult,  and  often  embar 
rassing  duties,  Mr.  CRISP  won  the  esteem  of  the  bar,  satisfied 
the  demands  of  the  law,  proved  himself  an  able,  just,  incorrupti 
ble  judge,  and  increased  his  popularity  as  his  intercourse  with 
the  people  widened. 

The  result  was  his  transference  from  the  bench  to  the  Halls 
of  Congress,  where  services  were  rendered  as  occasions  came, 
which  gained  him  increasing  attention  until  even  in  a  Congress 
where  he  was  at  a  disadvantage  by  being  in  the  minority,  and 
especially  because  he  represented  a  Southern  district,  he  com 
manded  such  respect  for  his  courage,  his  parliamentary  skill, 
his  fidelity  to  his  party,  and  his  patriotic  devotion  to  his  country 
that  he  was  conceded  the  position  of  leader  of  his  side  of  the 
House.  His  field  battles  with  the  eminent  Speaker — a  foeman 
worthy  of  his  steel — will  always  be  memorable  parliamentary 
history.  Gallant  as  any  chivalrous  Southern  knight,  skilled 
in  the  tactics  of  Congressional  proceeding,  ready  in  running 


156      Life  and  Character  of  Charles  Frederick  Crisp. 

skirmish,  and  steady  as  a  stone  wall  under  assault,  he  stood 
foremost  among  national  party  men  on  the  floor  of  Congress 
until  the  great  change  in  the  political  situation  gave  his  friends 
the  opportunity  to  reverse  positions  between  himself  and  his  able 
antagonist  by  elevating  him  to  the  Speakership,  one  of  the  most 
commanding  offices  created  by  the  Constitution.  With  many 
other  Georgians  I  have  proudly  witnessed  in  Washington  the 
contests  and  the  triumphs  of  this  conspicuous  Representative 
from  our  own  State.  Recalling  the  old  historic  names  of  Geor 
gia — recalling  the  days  when  Berrien  charmed  the  Senate  with 
his  pellucid  speech,  when  Toombs  in  torrents  of  eloquence  stirred 
the  House,  when  Stephens,  like  a  river,  made  glad  with  limpid 
logic  the  hearts  of  his  countrymen,  when  Cobb,  illustrious 
from  his  youth,  held  the  Speaker's  gavel,  and  on  to  Hill  the 
superb,  Brown  the  wise,  and  Colquitt  the  tribune,  and  others 
who  like  these  requited  the  State  with  fadeless  luster  for  the 
honors  she  had  conferred  on  them — I  say,  recalling  these  his 
toric  men,  I  am  not  loath  to  place  among  them  the  name  and 
fame  of  the  statesman  whose  loss  from  the  national  councils 
we  so  sadly  deplore. 

I  will  venture  to  say  that  no  more  magnificent  display  of 
political  self-denial  ever  occurred  in  the  lives  of  aspiring  men 
than  that  which  shines  out  in  splendor  like  the  noonday  sun  in 
one  well-known  event  of  Mr.  CRISP'S  political  life.  I  refer,  of 
course,  to  the  occasion  when  he  put  aside  the  Senatorial  toga 
proffered  him  by  Governor  Northen  on  the  death  of  the  lamented 
Senator  Colquitt.  I  will  not  try  your  patience  nor  party  fealty 
by  asking  what  you  would  have  done.  L,et  us  imagine  that 
others  would  have  acted  as  he  did,  and  yet  his  act  remains 
unparalleled  by  any  similar  instance.  Consider  that  the  office 
of  Georgia  Senator  was  the  shining  goal  of  his  just  aspirations; 
that  in  the  judgment  of  the  governor  he  was  the  proper  recip 
ient  of  the  great  trust;  that  the  popular  mind  coincided  with 
the  governor's  views;  that  the  tide  in  politics  was  turning 
against  his  party  and  would  sweep  him  from  the  Speakership, 
and  that  to  lose  the  Senator's  place  then  might  cause  its  loss  to 
him  forever;  consider  this  situation,  and  a  view  of  his  declina 
tion  of  the  office  of  Senator  will  glow  upon  your  admiration  as 


Address  of  Mr,  Bartlett.  157 

a  sunlit  summit  of  fealty  to  official  trust  and  party  principles 
whose  height  will  not  be  often  climbed  by  mortal  man. 

But  he  lived  to  see  his  course  justified.  The  people  of  the 
State  kept  him  in  mind.  By  an  unusual  popular  vote  they 
had  this  year  requested  the  legislature  to  make  him  the  State's 
ambassador  in  the  United  States  Senate,  and  their  will  would 
have  been  performed  a  few  days  from  this  sad  date  when  he  lies 
before  us  wrapped  in  the  slumbers  of  death.  Once  by  his  own 
act,  once  by  the  act  of  God,  the  Senatorial  crown  has  been  put 
aside.  We  are  glad  he  etched  into  his  enduring  fame  the  self- 
denial  which  so  much  exalted  his  character;  we  are  glad  he 
lived  to  know  that  the  high  trust  had  been  given  him  by  the 
people  of  his  beloved  State;  and  since  he  has  been  deprived  by 
the  just  will  of  God  of  the  high  position,  we  will  lay  the 
unworn  Senatorial  robe  at  the  base  of  his  monument  and  write 
his  great  name  among  those  of  the  patriotic  statesmen  of  our 
country. 

I  can  not  justly  omit  that  eventful  period  of  four  years  in 
which,  as  a  young  Virginia  soldier,  he  espoused  the  cause  and 
bravely  fought  the  battles  of  the  Confederate  war.  When  16 
years  old,  a  stripling  youth,  a  boy  of  handsome  form  and 
gallant  mien,  but  spirited  as  a  cavalier,  he  put  on  the  gray 
jacket  and  offered  himself  for  slaughter.  It  is  just  such  food 
as  war  craves,  and  too  often  gets.  The  ' '  flower  of  the  South ' ' 
decorated  the  grim  battlefields  with  their  slain  bodies  and  made 
them  glorious.  CRISP  was  among  the  number  of  that  Army  of 
Northern  Virginia  which  Lee,  Jackson,  and  Stuart  depended  on 
for  victories  which  made  them  an  immortal  fame.  The  first 
year  brought  Manassas,  with  its  unobscured  triumph  of  the 
Southern  army.  The  second  year,  the  "Seven  days  around 
Richmond,"  when  Lee  rolled  McClellan's  outspread  columns 
like  a  scroll  back  upon  the  River  James.  The  third  year, 
Gettysburg,  with  its  first  day  of  glory  and  its  third  day  of 
bloody  repulse.  The  fourth  year,  the  Wilderness  series 
of  interlapping  horrors,  centering  on  the  i2th  of  May,  when  a 
whole  day's  titanic  wrestling  in  garments  rolled  in  blood 
ended  with  the  fraternal  foes  confronting  each  other  in  rifle 
range.  Through  these  scenes,  with  their  intermediate  events, 


158      Life  and  Character  of  Charles  Frederick  Crisp. 

all  equally  momentous  our  young  soldier  served  with  his  com 
rades,  terminating  his  field  service  by  his  capture  in  the  ' '  bloody 
angle"  of  the  isth  of  May.  Imprisonment  followed,  but  when 
released  in  1865,  he  turned  his  steps  to  Georgia  and  became 
her  loyal,  faithful,  and  honored  son.  Not  once  has  he  claimed 
political  reward  for  this  heroic  service  in  the  cause  of  the 
South.  He  knew  that  patriotism  has  no  price.  The  tender  of 
life  to  the  state  in  its  peril  is  only  a  real  tribute  of  righteous 
sovereignty,  and  the  offering  has  no  place  on  any  pay  roll;  it 
thrusts  no  key  into  the  public  treasury,  and  makes  no  demand 
on  the  popular  ballot.  But  the  record  of  our  comrade  is  with 
us  his  highest  honor,  and  his  consciousness  of  patriotic  duty 
faithfully  done  is  his  highest  reward. 

But  the  State  can  not  take  to  itself  the  keenest  pangs  which 
this  public  bereavement  has  caused.  I,et  it  stand  aside  in  its 
open  sorrow,  made  expressive  by  many  honoring  testimonials, 
and  let  it  be  silent  before  the  poignant  grief  which  wrings  the 
heart  of  the  family  whose  prop  and  pride,  whose  crown  and 
chief,  is  gone;  whose  tender  fatherhood  is  now  but  sweet  poten 
tial  memory.  His  family  life  was,  after  all,  his  chiefest  grace. 
With  a  loving  nature,  he  lavished  his  heart's  best  gifts  on  her 
whom  God  gave  to  him  and  on  the  children  who  grew  up  under 
his  care.  If  words  of  consolation  could  be  effectively  spoken,  we 
would  all  speak  them  in  sheer  pity  for  her  whose  heart  is  broken 
by  this  blow.  But  no  wine  press  is  for  the  tramping  of  many 
feet  in  concert.  She  must  tread  the  wine  press  of  her  affliction 
alone.  There  is  One  only  who  can  come  to  her  whose  comfort 
ing  is  barred  by  no  ceremony  and  lacking  in  no  quality.  ' '  I  will 
not  leave  you  comfortless;  I  will  come  to  you."  And  so,  if 
words  of  counsel  were  needed  by  these  children,  they  would  be 
offered  by  thousands  of  friendly  tongues.  But  the  counsel  is 
not  needed.  The  heritage  of  a  wise  father's  life  is  wealth  for 
his  offspring.  By  the  memory  of  his  words  they  will  direct  their 
ways.  We  therefore  commit  this  stricken  household  to  the  God 
who  guided  their  head,  and  to  the  memories  of  his  noble  life. 
I  do  not  know  how  to  speak  further,  in  the  presence  of  an  audi 
ence  who  knew  him  so  well,  of  his  personal  traits  and  his  pri 
vate  life.  I  am  conscious  of  repeating  your  sayings  when  I  would 


Address  of  Mr.  Bartlett.  159 

describe  his  genial,  hopeful,  generous  disposition.  The  smile 
which  lighted  his  face  was  an  issue  of  his  heart.  The  face  itself 
inspired  confidence;  his  social  mien  won  affection;  his  tongue 
was  free  from  the  guilt  of  detraction;  he  was  kind  in  speech 
even  when  he  spoke  of  his  adversaries.  Genuine  charity  had 
its  home  in  his  heart  and  directed  his  hand  to  help  the  weak  and 
the  poor.  The  masterpiece  of  Paul's  pen,  as  recorded  in  the 
thirteenth  chapter  of  the  first  letter  to  the  Corinthians,  was  his 
most  favorite  study.  His  nearest  neighbors  esteemed  and  loved 
him,  his  friends  trusted  him,  his  political  opponents  respected 
him. 

In  early  manhood  he  embraced  the  faith  taught  in  the 
Scriptures,  united  with  the  church,  loved  the  brethren  in  its 
communion,  and  died  in  the  hope  which  his  religion  inspired. 
Separated  now  from  all  that  delighted  or  tried  him  on  earth,  he 
is  gone  to  that  mysterious  sphere  where  duty  to  God  will  be 
done  in  perfection  and  the  joy  of  the  service  will  be  the  heavenly 
rewards. 

We  may  suffer  ourselves  to  be  counseled  even  by  death. 
Meet  it  we  must;  meet  it  daringly  we  may;  meet  it  reverently 
we  should,  for  it  is  designed  to  be  but  the  priest  in  the  black 
gown  sent  to  conduct  us  to  the  Prince  of  Life  Eternal. 

The  last  object  that  man  beholds  on  earth  is  not  the  state 
and  its  officials;  not  the  church  and  its  ministers;  not  the  family 
of  loved  ones,  and  not  friends  in  tears;  but  the  last  Being  alone 
with  man  on  earth  is  Almighty  God.  In  the  article  of  death, 
after  every  mortal  citadel  has  been  stormed,  the  eyes  of  the 
unassailable  soul  turns  from  the  delightful  scenes  as  well  as 
from  the  ghastly  horrors  of  Time  to  look  with  clairvoyant  power 
and  boundless  interest  upon  the  serene  eternity  of  infinite  things. 
In 'that  moment  of  an  indescribable  crisis  the  alone  soul  looks 
before  it  springs,  and  as  it  looks  it  encounters  the  face  of  God. 
The  Almighty  God!  The  immortal  soul!  Face  to  face!  Does 
the  soul  reflect  the  image  and  likeness  of  Him  into  whose  face 
it  looks?  That  is  life's  crucial  question.  Blessed  in  such  a 
crisis  are  the  pure  in  heart. 

In  the  crucible  of  every  human  career,  after  all  fires  have 
burned  down  and  the  vessel  is  cold,  there  should  remain  at  last 


160      Life  and  Character  of  Charles  Frederick  Crisp. 

refined  and  prepared  for  eternal  use  an  immortal  soul  which 
serenely  reflects  in  character  the  face  of  God. 

It  is  well  for  us  who  are  here,  and  who  know  each  other's 
natures  well,  to  understand  that  in  our  inmost  unexpressed 
thought  we  believe  there  is  something  better  than  the  poor 
prizes  for  which  we  are  all  contending. 

The  question  being  taken  on  the  resolutions,  they  were 
unanimously  agreed  to,  and  in  accordance  therewith  (at  5 
o'clock  and  55  minutes  p.  m.)  the  House  adjourned. 


PROCEEDINGS  IN  THE  SENATE. 

JANUARY  18,  1897. 

A  message  from  the  House  of  Representatives,  by  Mr. 
Chapell,  one  of  its  clerks,  communicated  to  the  Senate  the 
intelligence  of  the  death  of  CHARLES  F.  CRISP,  late  a  mem 
ber  of  the  House  from  the  State  of  Georgia,  and  trans 
mitted  the  resolutions  of  the  House  thereon. 

Mr.  GORDON.  Mr.  President,  I  desire  to  give  notice  that 
on  Thursday  next,  at  3  o'clock  p.  m.,  I  shall  ask  the  Senate 
to  suspend  business  to  receive  resolutions  upon  the  subject 
to  which  the  message  from  the  House  of  Representatives 
relates,  and  to  hear  some  remarks  in  connection  therewith. 

H.  Doc.  255 ii  161 


MEMORIAL  ADDRESSES. 

JANUARY  25,  1897. 

The  Vice-President  laid  before  the  Senate  the  resolutions 
of  the  House  of  Representatives,  and  they  were  read. 

Mr.  GORDON.  Mr.  President,  I  submit  the  resolutions 
which  I  send  to  the  desk. 

The  resolutions  were  read,  as  follows: 

Resolved,  That  the  business  of  the  Senate  be  now  suspended, 
that  opportunity  may  be  given  for  tributes  to  the  memory  of 
the  Hon.  CHARLES  F.  CRISP,  late  a  Representative  from  the 
State  of  Georgia. 

Resolved,  That  as  a  further  tribute  to  his  memory  and  in 
recognition  of  his  distinguished  ability  as  a  public  servant,  the 
Senate,  at  the  conclusion  of  these  memorial  ceremonies,  shall 
stand  adjourned. 

Resolved,  That  the  Secretary  communicate  these  resolutions 
to  the  House  of  Representatives;  and 

Resolved,  That  the  Secretary  be  instructed  to  communicate  a 
copy  of  these  resolutions  to  the  family  of  the  deceased. 

The  VICE-PRESIDENT.  The  resolutions  are  before  the 
Senate. 

163 


164      Life  and  Character  of  Charles  Frederick  Crisp. 


ADDRESS  OF  MR.  GORDON. 

Mr.  GORDON.  Mr.  President,  during  the  last  session  of 
Congress,  and  near  its  close,  I  met  on  this  floor  for  the  last 
time  the  great  Georgian  in  whose  honor  we  speak,  and 
whose  death  an  appreciative  people  so  sincerely  mourn. 
Were  it  permissible  to  refer  to  the  purpose  which  brought 
him  from  the  other  end  of  the  Capitol,  it  would  reveal,  as 
his  every  act,  public  and  private,  revealed,  the  innate 
nobility  of  the  man. 

CHARLES  FREDERICK  CRISP  was  born  in  England,  but 
was  transferred  before  his  first  anniversary  to  his  future 
home  in  southwest  Georgia.  Richly  endowed  with  native 
abilities  and  notably  with  those  attributes  of  character  so 
quickly  and  infallibly  discerned  by  the  open-hearted  peo 
ple  of  that  section,  in  his  early  manhood  he  commanded 
their  respect  and  enlisted  their  support.  In  a  district 
where  competition  was  an  impassable  barrier  against  medi 
ocrity,  he  rose  steadily  and  rapidly  in  their  esteem  and 
confidence  until  he  held  without  a  rival  the  supreme  place 
in  their  affections. 

Mr.  President,  if  it  be  true  that  our  temperament  and 
sensibilities  and  character  are  permanently  affected  by  the 
scenes  amid  which  we  are  reared,  this  fact  wrould  in  some 
measure  explain  the  strikingly  attractive  characteristics  of 
our  deceased  friend.  His  youthful  imagination,  his  gentle 
nature,  receptive  and  impressible,  received  their  earliest 
touches  and  strongest  tints  from  the  peculiar  civilization, 
the  sunlight,  and  soft  air  of  that  genial  clime.  His  child 
hood  was  passed  in  a  locality  where  an  unaffected  cordiality 
was  the  genius  of  social  life,  where  daily  associations  were 


Address  of  Mr.  Gordon.  165 

elevating  and  refining,  and  where  all  nature  tended  to 
soften  the  heart  and  lift  the  soul — where  home  was  the 
synonym  of  hospitality,  and  where  every  open  field,  made 
beautiful  by  the  white,  the  yellow,  and  the  crimson  cotton 
blooms,  was  rimmed  by  majestic  pines,  whose  weird  music, 
like  the  distant  murmur  of  the  sea,  tranquillized  the  spirit 
and  turned  the  thoughts  to  God. 

He  was  soldier,  lawyer,  solicitor,  judge,  national  legisla 
tor,  and  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives.  In  all 
these  positions  of  responsibility  and  trust,  in  the  holier 
relations  of  Christian,  husband,  and  father,  through  all  the 
stages  of  a  great  career,  in  all  the  activities  of  life,  he  was 
brave,  unselfish,  strong,  and  pure.  English  by  birth  and 
blood,  he  was  American  in  thought,  sentiment,  and  pur 
pose — in  every  throb  of  his  brain  and  fiber  of  his  being. 

The  achievements  of  his  maturer  years  were  but  the 
fulfillment  of  his  early  promise.  The  courage  and  conse 
cration  of  the  youthful  soldier  were  but  the  prophecies  of 
the  career  and  crown  of  the  illustrious  statesman. 

At  the  age  of  1 6  he  won  a  commission  in  the  Confederate 
Army  under  "Stonewall"  Jackson.  He  was  with  that 
phenomenal  soldier  when  he  fell  in  the  Wilderness.  He 
marched  with  him,  fought  under  him,  felt  the  power  of  his 
majestic  presence,  and  caught  inspiration  from  his  dazzling 
genius  and  from  that  inflexible  Christian  faith  and  fortitude 
which  are  better  than  genius.  Beardless  boy  as  he  was, 
Mr.  CRISP  met  the  hardships  and  dangers  of  the  field  with 
the  nerve  of  a  veteran,  and  endured  the  privations  of  prison 
with  the  patience  of  a  philosopher. 

Mr.  President,  a  character  so  symmetrical  and  complete 
as  Mr.  CRISP'S  deserves  to  be  studied  and  imitated.  Called 
to  an  unusual  number  of  positions,  he  was  efficient  in  all, 


1 66      Lif&  and  Character  of  Charles  Frederick  Crisp. 

and  in  many  excelled.  Doubtless  this  very  diversity  in  his 
active  life,  like  exercises  in  training  schools  for  the  develop 
ment  of  complete  physical  manhood,  was  a  source  of  strength 
in  his  mental  and  moral  equipment. 

As  a  soldier,  he  learned  obedience  to  constituted  authority, 
the  necessity  of  promptness,  the  value  and  power  of  organ 
ized  effort. 

As  a  lawyer,  he  was  taught  the  efficacy  of  analysis  and  of 
that  close,  clear,  and  forceful  style  of  reasoning  from  premise 
to  conclusion  which  constitute  the  strength  and  charm  of 
his  public  utterances. 

As  State's  attorney,  it  was  his  duty  to  analyze  and  de 
nounce  crime  and  to  bring  the  perpetrators  to  punishment, 
and  he  discharged  that  duty  with  absolute  fidelity  and 
marked  ability. 

As  judge,  he  was  charged  with  the  high  function  of  de 
claring  the  law  protecting  the  citizen's  rights,  his  property, 
his  life,  and  his  liberty,  and  no  man  ever  met  these  grave 
obligations  more  conscientiously  and  bravely.  The  judicial 
ermine  never  rested  upon  worthier  shoulders,  nor  was  it 
ever  kept  whiter  or  more  immaculate. 

As  member  of  the  National  Congress,  he  was  confronted 
by  the  gravest  problems  of  government,  and  he  supported 
or  antagonized  measures  with  an  eye  single  to  the  welfare 
of  the  people.  « 

As  Speaker,  he  had  placed  in  his  hands  a  power  greater 
in  many  important  particulars  than  that  intrusted  to  the 
President,  and  he  wielded  it,  in  the  judgment  of  political 
friend  and  opponent,  with  an  ability  rarely  equaled  and  a 
courtesy  and  an  impartiality  never  surpassed. 

As  professing  Christian,  he  assumed  obligations  to  the 
Christian  Church  and  to  its  Divine  Founder  and  Head 
which  he  never  disowned  and  never  dishonored. 


Address  of  Mr.  Gordon.  167 

Mr.  President,  there  remains  but  one  other  phase  of  our 
deceased  friend's  life  of  which  I  wish  briefly  to  speak.  In 
those  stations  to  which  I  have  already  alluded  his  record  was 
far  more  conspicuous  and  related  itself  to  a  vastly  wider 
constituency.  The  responsibilities  of  those  public  stations, 
so  faithfully  met,  were  to  his  country,  to  society,  and  church. 
The  honors  he  won  by  a  great  career  and  a  noble  life  are  the 
heritage  of  the  whole  American  people.  But  the  realm  into 
which  I  now  enter,  while  far  more  circumscribed,  is  infinitely 
more  sacred  than  any  except  the  church  itself.  It  is  due  to 
the  occasion,  due  to  my  own  sense  of  propriety,  to  say  that 
the  curtain  is  drawn  from  the  sanctuary  of  my  friend's 
domestic  life  by  a  reverent  hand,  and  that  the  delicate  task 
is  legitimately  sanctioned;  but  it  is  also  due  to  his  memory 
and  to  those  whom  he  loved  above  honors  and  held  dearer 
than  life  to  say  that  no  home  ever  lost  a  nobler  head  than 
the  home  of  Mr.  CRISP. 

Great  and  lasting  as  are  the  honors  he  won  in  the  public 
service,  sincere  and  just  as  are  the  eulogiums  pronounced 
by  his  associates  in  Congress,  earnest  and  universal  as  are 
the  benedictions  of  his  people,  and  precious  as  will  be  this 
heritage  to  the  unspeakably  bereaved  wife  and  children,  yet 
his  constant,  daily  acts  of  unselfish  devotion  as  husband  and 
father  are  to  them  the  richest  and  most  cherished  legacy. 
His  unfailing  solicitude  and  tenderness  exhibited  through 
out  his  busy,  absorbing  career,  and  singularly  manifested  in 
the  very  hour  of  dissolution,  when  his  tongue  was  no  longer 
capable  of  utterance,  will  constitute  to  this  stricken  house 
hold  the  sweetest  and  most  hallowed  memory. 

The  life  of  such  a  man,  Mr.  President,  is  a  sermon,  a 
psalm,  an  inspiration.  The  death  of  such  a  man  is  a 
bereavement  to  society,  to  the  State,  to  the  Republic.  Both 
his  life  and  his  death  to  those  of  us  who  served  with  him 


1 68      Life  and  Character  of  Charles  Frederick  Crisp. 

and  who  now  survive  him  are  full  of  encouragement  and  at 
the  same  time  of  warning — of  encouragement  to  virtuous 
living  in  the  discharge  of  duty,  and  of  solemn  warning  to 
be  ready  for  the  inexorable  summons  of  the  mute  messenger, 
who  will  come  we  know  not  how  nor  when,  but  will  come 
surely  and  come  to  all. 

Standing  in  the  gloom  of  this  national  loss,  the  radiance 
of  the  highway  he  trod  becomes  the  more  plainly  visible. 
From  its  opening  to  its  close  his  career  was  one  of  unbroken 
success.  From  year  to  year,  from  station  to  station,  from 
one  official  height  to  another  still  higher,  his  shining 
course  was  a  constant,  continuing  ascent,  with  no  blemish 
to  mar,  no  stain  to  dim  its  luster.  Holding  the  great  office 
of  Speaker,  he  declined  a  seat  in  this  Chamber  tendered  him 
by  the  governor  of  his  State.  Though  laudably  ambitious 
to  represent  Georgia  in  this  august  body,  he  turned  his  back 
on  ambition  at  the  call  of  duty,  whose  every  command  was 
to  him  an  imperative  fiat.  He  died  with  the  echoes  of  his 
last  political  victory  still  ringing  in  his  ears.  He  died  near 
the  convening  of  the  legislature  which,  in  obedience  to  the 
formally  expressed  and  emphatic  popular  will,  would  have 
sent  him  triumphantly  to  the  Senate  as  a  partial  recompense 
for  his  previous  self-abnegation. 

Providence  denied  him  the  coveted  seat  in  this  Chamber, 
but  called  him,  as  we  confidently  hope  and  believe,  to  an 
infinitely  more  exalted  station  in  the  invisible,  everlasting 
convocation  of  the  just. 


Address  of  Mr.  Gallinger.  169 


ADDRESS  OF  MR.  GALLINGER. 

Mr.  GALLINGER.  Mr.  President,  in  response  to  the  request 
of  the  distinguished  senior  Senator  from  Georgia,  whose 
eloquent  and  touching  words  of  eulogy  have  charmed  our 
ears  to-day,  I  will  very  briefly  pay  tribute  to  the  great  Geor 
gian,  whose  virtues  and  accomplishments  are  matters  of 
history.  It  was  my  privilege  to  serve  with  CHARLES  FRED 
ERICK  CRISP  during  the  Forty-ninth  and  Fiftieth  Con 
gresses,  and  it  is  an  exceedingly  pleasant  memory  that  we 
were  friends  as  well  as  associates  during  those  four  eventful 
years.  Mr.  CRISP  had  not  then  risen  to  the  high  eminence 
as  an  orator  and  parliamentarian  that  he  achieved  in  later 
years,  but  even  then,  almost  at  the  threshold  of  his  Con 
gressional  career,  he  impressed  himself  upon  the  House  as 
a  man  of  marvelous  gifts  and  commanding  powers.  I  recall 
more  than  one  instance  when  he  surprised  his  associates 
by  an  exhibition  of  tact,  ability,  and  skill  in  the  manage 
ment  of  legislation,  while  his  occasional  outbursts  of  fervid 
oratory  are  not  forgotten  by  his  fellow-members.  At  times 
Mr.  CRISP  was  intensely  partisan,  as  all  strong  men  are,  but 
he  was  always  courteous  and  usually  fair.  The  rancor  of 
debate  left  no  scars  on  his  tender  mind,  and  the  turbulent 
waters  of  party  strife  did  not  soil  the  purity  of  his  soul. 
Looking  back  over  the  years  that  have  come  and  gone  to 
the  time  that  I  passed  with  Mr.  CRISP  at  the  close  of  the 
Fiftieth  Congress,  my  heart  goes  out  to  him  even  as  it  did 
when  we  daily  met.  His  kindly  words  are  remembered, 
and  his  strong  and  pervading  personality  is  vividly  and 
tenderly  recalled.  But  the  good  friend,  the  courtly  gentle 
man,  the  intellectual  giant  is  no  more.  At  the  very  zenith 


170      Life  and  Character  of  Charles  Frederick  Crisp. 

of  his  fame — the  chosen  leader  of  his  party  associates  and 
the  idol  of  his  State — he  was  summoned  from  earth  to  the 
great  beyond.  Mr.  CRISP  has  gone  to  his  reward,  to  receive 
the  plaudit  of  ' '  Well  done,  good  and  faithful  servant. ' ' 

Mr.  President,  it  is  a  single  blossom  that  I  bring  to  be 
laid  on  the  casket  of  my  dead  friend;  but  the  tribute, 
though  brief,  is  sincere  and  heartfelt.  A  man  of  marvelous 
powers,  grand  achievement,  and  noble  purposes  has  passed 
away.  The  place  he  so  well  filled  in  the  halls  of  legislation 
is  vacant;  but  his  place  in  the  hearts  of  his  family,  his 
friends,  and  his  countrymen  will  forever  be  bright  and 
glorious.  Farewell,  thou  man  of  strength  and  grandeur;  of 
tenderness  and  heroism;  of  mighty  achievement  and  exalted 
purpose.  Earth's  work  is  done,  life's  fitful  fever  is  ended, 
and  the  joys  of  a  better  world  are  the  reward  for  the  faith 
ful  performance  of  earth's  duties  and  obligations.  Farewell 
the  true  friend,  the  convincing  orator,  the  great  Speaker,  a 
fond  and  tender  farewell. 


Address  of  Mr.  Gorman.  171 


ADDRESS  OF  MR.  GORMAN, 

Mr.  GORMAN.  Mr.  President,  my  purpose  on  the  present 
sad  occasion  is  briefly  to  express  my  great  personal  esteem 
and  my  high  admiration  for  a  great  leader  in  the  public 
councils  of  our  country,  whose  life  added  luster  to  American 
character  and  illustrated  the  possibilities  in  American  polit 
ical  life. 

It  can  not  be  too  often  noted  and  emphasized  that  there 
is  no  insurmountable  bar  to  preeminence  in  the  politics  of 
our  country  when  to  personal  traits  of  exalted  character 
there  are  added  incorruptible  integrity,  firm  resolution,  and 
positive  courage.  When  these  high  qualities  are  graced 
with  kindliness  of  disposition,  urbanity  in  intercourse,  and 
a  high  sense  of  justice  and  fair  dealing  toward  adversaries, 
we  have  that  truly  American  character  which  was  illustrated 
in  the  public  life  of  the  late  CHARLES  FREDERICK  CRISP. 

His  early  schooling  was  obtained  in  the  camp,  upon  the 
march,  and  in  the  very  forefront  of  the  battle.  It  was  amid 
the  hardships,  restraints,  and  sacrifices  incident  to  four  years 
of  civil  conflict  that  he  laid  fast  and  sure  the  foundation  of 
self-reliance,  indomitable  resolution,  and  high  purpose,' 
which  in  a  few  years  brought  him  forward  as  one  qualified 
to  lead  and  to  shape  the  course  of  political  affairs.  His 
promotion  was  rapid.  Admitted  to  the  bar  in  1866,  he  was 
raised  to  the  bench  in  1877,  and  from  that  high  position 
was  elected  to  the  House  of  Representatives  in  1882.  There, 
in  committees,  on  the  floor  in  debate,  and  in  earnest  work, 
he  so  impressed  his  political  associates  that  in  the  Fifty- 
second  Congress  his  party  elected  him  Speaker  of  the  House — 
the  most  exalted  position  within  the  gift  of  the  House,  and 


172      Life  and  Character  of  Charles  Frederick  Crisp. 

second  only  to  the  Presidency  in  point  of  power  in  our 
system  of  government. 

These  accomplished  results  illustrate  not  only  the  high 
character  and  attainments  of  Mr.  CRISP,  but  they  emphasize 
the  possibilities  of  popular  government,  whose  highest  hon 
ors  are  at  all  times  open  to  the  free  competition  of  those 
who  are  worthy  to  fill  them. 

The  public  life  of  Mr.  CRISP  illustrates  the  truth  of  the 
remark  that  "nothing  is  denied  to  well-directed  labor,  and 
nothing  is  obtained  without  it."  Leadership  in  the  House 
exacts  the  most  constant  and  assiduous  labor  from  those 
who  aspire  to  its  high  emprize,  and  can  not  be  purchased  at 
a  lesser  price.  His  administration  of  the  duties  of  the 
Speakership,  during  periods  of  intense  excitement  and 
amid  the  conflicts  of  contending  interests,  left  not  a  sting 
among  his  party  adversaries,  nor  failed  to  bring  intensest 
satisfaction  to  his  supporters.  He  was  preeminently  fair, 
considerate,  just,  and  impartial,  and  left  the  well-earned 
reputation  of  a  great  Speaker.  A  like  career  on  this  floor 
was  frustrated  by  the  rude  hand  of  death  immediately  after 
the  people  of  Georgia  had  expressed  their  purpose  to  elect 
him  to  the  Senate. 

There  must  have  been  in  such  a  career  a  dominating  prin 
ciple  to  which  thought  and  action  were  at  all  times  subordi 
nated.  We  shall  not  improve  occasions  like  this  if  we  fail 
to  eliminate  the  motive  and  the  principle  which  made  the 
public  career  of  Mr.  CRISP  so  worthy  of  study  and  so  full 
of  noble  example.  He  was  a  partisan  in  the  purest  sense 
of  that  word.  He  had  satisfied  his  conscience  that  more 
substantial  good,  more  positive  progress  was  possible  to  the 
country  from  the  principles,  measures,  and  organization  of 
the  political  party  to  which  he  was  attached  than  was  possi- 


Address  of  Mr.  Gorman.  173 

ble  from  any  other  organization.  Hence  his  advocacy,  as 
well  as  his  opposition,  was  directed  at  all  times  to  the  tri 
umph  before  the  people  of  the  principles  and  measures  of 
his  party.  But  that  partisanship  was  destitute  of  every 
unworthy  motive,  free  from  all  asperity,  and  unattended 
with  epithet,  innuendo,  or  aspersion.  Those  who  differed 
from  him  listened  to  his  earnest  advocacy,  confident  that  it 
was  inspired  by  sincerity  and  prompted  by  a  high  sense  of 
duty.  If  to  "party  he  gave  up  what  was  meant  for  man 
kind,"  it  was  because  he  identified  his  party  with  all  that 
was  best  and  safest  for  the  general  welfare  of  the  people, 
the  progress  of  the  country,  and  the  advancement  of  her 
civilization. 

By  disposition,  as  well  as  from  conviction,  he  was  a  con 
servative  of  that  form  of  government  and  that  distribution 
of  its  functions  which  under  the  Federal  Constitution  can 
alone  render  permanent  the  blessings  of  popular  govern 
ment.  At  the  same  time  he  was  a  pronounced  radical  in 
his  conviction  that  all  power  emanates  from  the  people,  and 
that  the  administration  of  government  can  never  be  safe 
and  successful  unless  it  be  conformable  to  the  wishes  and 
opinions  of  the  people  as  expressed  by  their  representatives, 
and  that  the  regular,  orderly,  and  authentic  expression  of 
public  opinion  was  obligatory  at  all  times  upon  the  legisla 
tive  and  the  executive  departments  of  the  Government. 

Such  exalted  principles  qualify  and  modify  partisanship 
into  patriotism,  and  teach  the  lesson  that  intensity  of  advo 
cacy  is  at  all  times  compatible  with  a  just  consideration  for 
the  convictions  of  an  adversary.  That  was  the  preeminent 
characteristic  of  the  political  career  of  Mr.  CRISP.  In  the 
most  excited  and  embittered  contests  over  measures  like 
those  for  the  repeal  of  the  election  laws  or  the  different 


174      Ltfc  an(l  Character  of  Charles  Frederick  Crisp. 

phases  of  the  tariff  discussion,  he  exhibited  the  highest 
qualities  of  leadership,  but  at  the  same  time  the  fullest 
recognition  of  the  same  earnestness  of  conviction  in  his 
opponents. 

Without  the  brilliancy  of  oratory  or  the  graces  of  rhetoric, 
his  very  earnestness  and  the  manifest  sincerity  of  his  char 
acter  became  persuasive  and  convincing,  and  made  him  a 
natural  leader  and  his  party  willing  and  enthusiastic  fol 
lowers.  There  was  in  his  personality  every  element  which 
made  association  pleasant  and  agreeable.  With  warm 
hearted  geniality  he  won  the  affections,  while  his  dignity 
of  bearing  impressed  all  who  came  within  its  influence. 
But  there  was  no  compromise  of  principle  within  his  nature; 
what  conscience  approved,  expediency  could  not  compro 
mise.  It  was  that  full  and  complete  subordination  of 
expediency  to  principle  that  carried  into  the  Speakership 
the  integrity  of  the  judge  and  clothed  the  politician  with 
the  ermine  of  justice. 

It  was  natural  that  such  a  character  should  impress  the 
people  far  beyond  the  borders  of  Georgia;  hence  his  popu 
larity  was  as  widespread  as  his  party,  and  in  every  State  he 
won  the  respect  and  confidence  alike  of  Democrats  and 
Republicans.  Citizens  of  every  party  recognized  the 
purity  and  sincerity  of  that  "hope"  for  "our  beloved 
country  "  when  uttered  by  him  upon  being  elected  Speaker. 

No  review  of  his  public  and  private  character  would  do 
justice  to  our  departed  friend  which  did  not  emphasize  that 
unselfish  devotion  to  duty  which  declined  the  appointment 
to  the  Senate  by  the  governor  of  Georgia  because  he  was 
more  useful  to  his  party  at  that  time  in  the  House.  The 
seat  in  the  Senate  was  the  goal  of  all  his  hopes,  the  crown 
of  his  ambition.  But  the  opportunity  oT  his  life  came  at 


Address  of  Mr,  Gorman,  175 

a  moment  when  duty  to  his  party  demanded  its  declension. 
He  was  equal  to  the  sacrifice,  and  set  aside  his  personal 
promotion  for  the  good  of  his  party.  There  is  a  deep  sad 
ness  in  the  fact  that  after  such  unselfish  devotion  to  duty 
death  should  have  robbed  him  of  his  reward  when  tendered 
by  the  suffrages  of  the  people  of  that  great  State  of  which 
he  was  a  noble  citizen  and  an  honored  Representative. 

My  acquaintance  with  him  was  close  and  intimate;  my 
confidence  in  his  judgment,  discretion,  and  ability  was  full 
and  complete.  He  measured  up  to  every  occasion,  and 
never  was  a  flaw  or  crevice  found  in  that  armor  of  prin 
ciple,  integrity,  and  zeal  for  "our  beloved  country,"  which 
enveloped  him  like  a  "garment  of  praise." 


176      Life  and  Character  of  Charles  Frederick  Crisp. 


ADDRESS  OF  MR.  BERRY. 

Mr.  BERRY.  Mr.  President,  I  met  CHARLES  FREDERICK 
CRISP  for  the  first  time  when  I  came  here  in  1885.  He 
was  then  serving  his  second  term  in  Congress,  and  had 
already  attracted  attention  as  a  man  of  ability  and  high 
character.  Subsequently  I  knew  him  intimately  and  knew 
him  well.  We  lived  together  in  the  same  hotel  in  this 
city  for  eight  years.  During  the  sessions  of  Congress  I 
saw  him  daily.  I  saw  him  in  his  associations  with  his 
family,  with  members  of  Congress,  and  with  numerous 
friends  from  all  sections  of  the  country.  That  he  was  a 
man  of  high  character  and  splendid  ability  I  need  not  say. 
That  he  met  bravely  and  was  equal  to  each  responsibility 
and  that  he  did  his  duty  faithfully  and  well  to  his  constit 
uents  and  his  country  is  known  to  all. 

Mr.  CRISP  was  one  of  the  few  men  in  public  life  of  whom 
it  could  be  truly  said  that  he  was  always  equal  and  never 
superior  to  any  place  or  station  where  duty  called  him  to 
go.  He  rose  steadily  and  continuously  in  the  public  esti 
mation  and  grew  greater  year  by  year  as  his  duties  and 
responsibilities  increased,  and  he  was  more  honored  and 
loved  at  the  time  of  his  death  than  at  any  time  before.  The 
most  prominent  and  striking  traits  in  his  character  as  they 
appeared  to  me  were  his  self-poise  and  remarkable  self- 
control,  his  uniform  cheerfulness,  his  great  patience  and 
kindliness  toward  all  with  whom  he  came  in  contact,  his 
quick  perception,  and  great  power  to  condense  and  con 
vince  in  argument.  I  saw  him  every  day  and  many  times 
each  day  during  the  exciting  and  heated  contest  for 
Speaker  in  December,  1891.  I  saw  him  at  the  time  when 


Address  of  Mr.  Berry.  177 

many  of  his  friends  thought  he  was  beaten.  I  saw  him  in 
the  hour  of  his  victory,  and  no  one  could  detect  in  his 
manner  or  bearing  the  least  sign  of  despondency  in  the 
one  instance  or  elation  in  the  other.  I  saw  him  after 
the  contest  was  over,  when  the  pressure  came  upon  him 
for  committee  assignments.  From  early  in  the  morning  for 
many  days  until  late  at  night  his  rooms  overflowed  with 
members  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  Senators,  and 
many  others.  He  saw  and  heard  all  who  came,  and  never 
for  one  moment  did  he  lose  his  patience,  his  cheerfulness, 
or  his  kindliness  of  manner.  If  he  felt  the  criticisms  and 
abuse  which  came  from  the  disappointed — and  he  did  feel 
it,  for  he  told  me  so  long  afterwards — he  made  no  sign  and 
uttered  no  complaint,  and  I  think  now  that  it  was  these 
high  and  admirable  qualities  in  his  character  that  enabled 
him  afterwards  to  lead  and  control  his  party  so  absolutely 
in  the  House  of  Representatives.  Many  strong  men,  many 
great  men,  have  presided  over  the  House  of  Representa 
tives;  but  I  think  none  of  them  ever  surpassed  Mr.  CRISP 
in  his  ability  to  lead,  and  none  ever  had  more  devoted  and 
willing  followers.  That  he  was  a  great  Speaker  and  pos 
sessed  qualities  that  peculiarly  fitted  him  for  the  position 
all  will  admit,  but  that  which  made  him  really  great  was 
his  devotion  to  duty  and  love  of  country. 

These  were  the  same  qualities  in  his  character  that 
caused  him  when  a  lad  of  16  years  of  age  to  inarch  forth 
to  battle  for  his  home,  his  people,  and  the  faith  of  his 
fathers,  and  this  same  devotion  to  duty  and  love  of  country 
remained  with  him  in  the  exalted  position  he  afterwards 
obtained.  And  he  was  as  true  and  loyal  to  our  common 
country  and  to  the  flag  of  the  Republic  when  presiding 
over  the  House  of  Representatives  as  he  had  been  true  and 
H.  Doc.  255 12 


178      Life  and  Character  of  Charles  Frederick  Crisp. 

loyal  to  the  flag  of  the  South  when  he  upheld  it  and  faced 
death  upon  the  battlefields  of  Manassas  and  Spottsylvania. 

The  greatest  lesson  taught  by  the  life  of  Mr.  CRISP  is  that 
it  shows  the  possibilities  of  success  for  the  American  youth. 
It  is  the  glory  of  our  Republic  that  the  poorest  boy  in  the 
land,  if  he  has  the  courage  to  be  honest  and  upright  and 
the  energy  to  persevere,  may  aspire  to  any  place  within  the 
gift  of  the  American  people. 

Mr.  CRISP  returned  from  the  war  in  1865,  a  youth  of  20, 
absolutely  without  means  or  influential  friends;  without  the 
advantage  of  college  training;  dependent  alone  upon  his 
own  resources;  and  yet  at  the  age  of  45  he  had  served  as 
district  attorney,  judge  of  the  superior  court,  member  of 
Congress,  and  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives, 
and  had  discharged  the  duties  of  all  these  positions  in  such 
way  as  to  command  the  respect  of  friend  and  foe.  During 
all  of  his  career  he  never  forgot  the  people  of  Georgia; 
those  with  whom  he  had  marched  and  suffered  in  time  of 
war;  those  who  had  been  loyal  and  true  to  him  in  every 
ambition  of  his  life.  He  never  believed  that  he  was  wiser 
than  they;  he  never  sought  to  secure  what  is  called  a  na 
tional  reputation  by  antagonizing  or  sacrificing  the  people 
of  his  State.  He  was  true  to  them,  and  they  supported  him 
with  a  devotion  and  unanimity  seldom  if  ever  surpassed. 

The  last  contest  he  ever  made,  the  last  speeches  he  ever 
delivered,  were  in  a  contest  within  his  own  party  upon  a 
great  question  of  party  policy,  and  in  this,  as  in  the  past, 
he  was  in  full  sympathy  with  and  true  to  the  great  body  of 
his  constituents  who  had  so  often  honored  him,  and  they 
showed  their  appreciation  by  giving  him  an  overwhelming 
majority  for  a  seat  upon  the  floor  of  the  Senate  of  the 
United  States. 


Address  of  Mr.  Berry,  179 

The  last  conversation  I  ever  had  with  him  was  upon  his 
return  from  that  canvass,  where  he  had  met  the  then  Secre 
tary  of  the  Interior  in  joint  debate.  He  told  me  that  his 
physician  had  insisted  that  he  should  quit  the  canvass  and 
of  his  regret  for  the  necessity.  He  spoke  of  his  failing 
health,  the  intense  pain  that  he  suffered,  and  that  he  feared 
it  was  the  beginning  of  the  end.  He  did  not  speak  of  it 
lightly,  nor  did  he  speak  of  it  in  any  gloomy  or  despondent 
way,  but  calmly  and  courageously,  as  a  brave  man  would 
speak  of  something  that  could  not  be  avoided  and  that  he 
was  ready  to  meet  without  fear,  but  that  he  hoped  might 
be  postponed  for  the  sake  of  those  dependent  upon  him. 

I  never  saw  anyone  more  devoted  to  his  family  than  Mr. 
CRISP.  During  all  the  years  that  we  lived  in  the  same 
house  no  one  ever  heard  him  speak  an  unkind  or  impatient 
word  to  wife  or  child.  He  was  the  intimate  friend  of  and 
loved  by  all  children;  he  was  deferential  to  all  womanhood 
and  courteous  to  all  manhood.  He  was  always  a  gentleman 
in  his  manner  and  deportment;  a  Southern  man  in  his 
instincts  and  feelings;  a  Southern  soldier  true  to  that  cause 
until  its  flag  was  furled  forever.  He  never  paraded  his  serv 
ices,  nor  did  he  ever  express  regret  or  offer  excuse  for  the 
course  he  had  pursued.  When  he  laid  down  his  arms  and 
pledged  his  word  for  future  allegiance  to  this  Government, 
he  kept  his  promise  in  letter  and  spirit,  and  when  he  arose 
to  the  high  position  that  he  afterwards  reached,  he  was  as 
true  and  loyal  to  the  Government  of  the  United  States  as 
the  men  whom  he  had  faced  in  battle.  The  people  of  the 
South  have  much  cause  to  love  and  honor  his  memory,  and 
the  people  of  the  entire  nation  have  much  cause  to  be  proud 
of  such  a  citizen. 


I  So      Life  and  Character  of  Charles  Frederick  Crisp. 

ADDRESS  OF  MR.  MILLS. 

Mr.  MILLS.  Mr.  President,  there  are  some  reasons  which 
have  impressed  me  that  I  should  join  the  people  of  Georgia 
and  the  friends  of  her  distinguished  son  in  paying  to  his 
memory  all  the  honors  which  the  living  can  pay  to  the  dead. 
The  remains  of  his  father  and  mother  have  for  many  years 
been  sleeping  in  the  warm  and  generous  bosom  of  Texas. 
Side  by  side  with  her  own  children,  Texas  has  seen  that 
their  graves  are  kept  green.  There  are  still  living  in  Texas 
those  who  knew  intimately  the  father  and  mother  and  who 
cherish  their  memories,  and  who  knew  the  son  in  his  young 
manhood,  whose  name  in  after  years  became  a  household 
word  around  all  their  firesides.  If  there  were  no  other 
considerations  which  moved  me,  this  would  constrain  me 
to  go  with  the  people  of  Georgia  and  drop  a  flower  for 
Texas  in  the  grave  of  Georgia's  distinguished  son.  But 
there  are  other  considerations  which  to  my  mind  make  it 
appropriate  for  me  to  speak  of  him.  During  the  great  civil 
war — the  greatest  in  the  annals  of  mankind — he  and  I  were 
soldiers  on  the  same  side.  We  fought  with  those  who  lost. 
He  served  with  the  army  which  defended  Virginia;  I  with 
the  army  which  defended  Georgia.  We  both  passed  through 
all  the  vicissitudes  incident  to  the  life  of  a  soldier.  One 
by  one  the  old  gray-jackets  are  passing  away.  Even  those 
who,  like  him,  entered  the  service  at  16  come  fewer  and 
fewer  to  the  annual  reunions.  During  the  last  summer  I 
went  to  a  reunion  of  Confederate  soldiers  in  a  county  in 
Texas  from  which  I  had  a  company  in  my  regiment  num 
bering  more  than  a  hundred.  Not  many  returned  from 
the  bloody  fields  of  Tennessee  and  Georgia,  and  of  those 


Address  of  Mr.  Mills.  181 

who  did  return  there  was  not  one  present  to  call  the  roll. 
As  a  comrade  in  arms,  I  would  come  to  his  bier  and  help 
his  loved  ones  lower  him  to  that  last  sleep  from  which  only 
the  reveille  of  Heaven  shall  awake  him. 

In  that  fearful  contest  it  was  my  fortune  to  be  three 
times  severely  wounded,  two  of  them  on  the  same  day.  I 
was  sent  from  the  field  to  the  hospital  at  Lagrange,  Ga. , 
where  I  received  from  the  mothers,  wives,  and  daughters 
of  Georgia  soldiers  the  kindest  care  and  the  tenderest  nurs 
ing,  without  which  I  should  be  sleeping  to-day  in  the 
Confederate  cemetery  at  Lagrange.  I  remember  how  like 
angels  they  hovered  about  our  rude  cots,  and  while  pour 
ing  balm  into  our  wounds,  they  poured  consolation  into 
our  ears  and  hope  into  our  hearts.  I  remember  how  noise 
lessly  they  passed  from  cot  to  cot,  watching  the  life  struggle 
of  the  torn  and  lacerated  soldiers,  ever  ready  with  hand  and 
heart  to  help  the  sinking  pulse  to  strike  back  toward  life, 
and  the  lusterless  eye  to  relume  and  burn  again  with  life's 
brilliancy.  Lingering  long  after  the  sun  had  gone,  folding 
tenderly  the  winding  sheet  around  those  appointed  to  die, 
and  administering  the  opiate  prescribed  by  the  surgeon  to 
soothe  the  suffering  to  sleep,  they  bade  all  good  night  with 
lips  and  eyes  burdened  with  prayers,  and  hied  them  to  their 
homes.  At  early  dawn  their  footsteps  were  heard  again  at 
our  bedsides,  to  go  over  and  over  again  the  labors  which 
their  brave  and  patriotic  hearts  had  made  a  labor  of  love. 
These  are  memories  which  are  indelibly  stamped  upon  my 
brain.  How  could  I  ever  forget  the  people  of  Georgia ! 

I  come  now  in  this  hour  of  grief,  when  the  hand  of  the 
Reaper  has  cut  down  a  son  whom  she  honored  and  loved, 
and  one  who  loved  and  honored  her,  and  take  my  place 
with  her  in  rendering  to  his  memory  every  tribute  which 


1 82      Life  and  Character  of  Charles  Frederick  Crisp. 

pride  and  affection  can  pay  to  the  memory  of  her  loved  and 
lost  son.  In  life  he  served  her  faithfully  and  well  ;  he 
achieved  honors  for  himself  and  heaped  honors  upon  a 
noble  people  whose  servant  he  was.  I  remember  when  he 
came  a  Representative  to  the  Forty-eighth  Congress.  He 
had  been  a  lawyer  of  prominence  at  the  bar  of  his  State. 
From  that  he  rose  to  the  bench.  He  was  equipped  with 
the  knowledge  and  accomplishments  that  such  positions 
give  to  a  man  of  labor.  He  soon  stood  among  the  leading 
members  of  the  House,  and  easily  maintained  the  place 
which  thorough  study  and  preparation  had  enabled  him 
to  win. 

The  House  of  Representatives  is  as  much  unlike  the 
Senate  as  the  stormy  waters  of  the  Atlantic  are  unlike  the 
waveless  waters  of  the  Dead  Sea.  The  House  is  the  focus 
of  the  concentrated  power  and  passion  of  the  people. 
There  the  popular  heart  beats  with  its  strongest  pulsation. 
There  the  popular  voice  speaks  with  its  clearest  emphasis. 
It  is  a  field  where  the  people  assemble  in  the  galleries  and 
look  on  and  are  quick  to  express  approbation  or  disappro 
bation.  They  applaud,  laugh,  shout,  and  jeer  the  combat 
ants.  They  are  severe,  merciless  critics.  The  leader  who 
puts  on  the  armor  of  Saul  but  can  not  wear  it  like  Saul 
will  soon  discover  his  mistake.  In  the  House  the  party 
leader  must  be  ready  for  battle  at  any  moment,  for  he 
knows  not  at  what  moment  his  forces  may  be  assailed. 
He  stands  in  the  arena  of  combat,  and  to  command  the 
confidence  of  his  followers  he  must  be  able  to  give  and 
take  the  blows  of  battle  in  such  a  way  as  to  retain  the 
approval  and  affection  of  his  comrades.  This  is  the  ordeal 
through  which  all  leaders  of  the  House  have  passed  and 
must  continue  to  pass.  In  this  ordeal  CHARLES  FRED- 


Address  of  Mr.  Mills.  183 

ERICK  CRISP  bore  himself  well,  and  continually  won  his 
way  toward  the  top.  In  the  Fiftieth  Congress  John  G. 
Carlisle,  of  Kentucky,  was  elected  Speaker.  His  seat  as  a 
member  of  the  House  was  contested.  He  very  properly 
declined  to  appoint  the  Committee  on  Elections,  because  he 
could  not  with  propriety  appoint  the  judges  who  were  to 
pass  upon  his  own  title.  The  Democratic  caucus  desig 
nated  several  gentlemen  who  were  authorized  to  select  that 
committee  and  appoint  its  chairman.  I  had  the  honor  of 
being  the  chairman  of  the  committee  appointed  by  the 
caucus.  When  we  met,  I  proposed  the  name  of  Mr.  CRISP 
as  chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Elections,  and  he  was 
unanimously  chosen.  He  discharged  the  duties  of  that 
exacting  and  laborious  position  with  conspicuous  ability. 

He  was  a  good  lawyer,  a  good  student,  well  informed  in 
the  rules  of  parliamentary  law,  and  an  able  debater.  He 
was  conciliatory  and  kind  in  his  disposition,  and  grappled 
his  friends  to  him  with  hooks  of  steel.  In  the  Fifty-second 
Congress  he  was  elected  Speaker  of  the  House,  and  so  dis 
charged  the  duties  of  that  high  station  that  he  was  reelected 
as  long  as  his  party  was  in  power.  So  strong  was  his  hold 
upon  the  affections  of  the  people  of  Georgia  that  they  had 
designated  him  as  a  member  of  this  body,  and  had  he  lived 
until  the  4th  of  March  next  he  would  have  taken  his  seat 
here  ;  but  on  the  23d  day  of  October,  1896,  "God's  finger 
touched  him,  and  he  slept."  There  is  now  nothing  left  us 
but  to  bow  with  resignation  to  the  decree  which  sooner  or 
later  will  come  to  us  all.  Peace  to  his  ashes! 


184      Life  and  Character  of  Charles  Frederick  Crisp. 


ADDRESS  OF  MR,  CARTER, 

Mr.  CARTER.  Mr.  President,  on  my  appearance  in  the 
Chamber  this  morning  the  eminent  senior  Senator  from 
Georgia  [Mr.  Gordon]  kindly  accorded  me  the  privilege  of 
addressing  the  Senate  briefly  on  the  character  and  services 
of  CHARLES  FREDERICK  CRISP. 

When  I  first  became  acquainted  with  Mr.  CRISP  he  was 
in  the  prime  of  life.  We  stood  together  before  the  Speaker's 
desk  and  took  the  oath  of  office  at  the  same  time  as  mem 
bers  of  the  Fifty-first  Congress.  My  service  was  then 
beginning.  He  had  to  his  credit  six  years  of  honorable  and 
distinguished  service  in  that  body.  He  was  an  accom 
plished  parliamentarian  and  a  veritable  legislative  gladiator. 
He  was  a  modest,  unassuming  man. 

In  the  stormy  scenes  of  that  memorable  Congress  he  was 
a  constant  and  forcible  but  not  a  noisy  participant.  With 
out  boisterous  demonstration  as  a  representative  of  his 
party  views,  he  resisted  the  parliamentary  reforms  proposed 
by  the  opposition  with  a  skill  which  commanded  the  respect 
of  his  opponents  and  the  affectionate  admiration  of  his  party 
associates. 

I  can  recall  him  now  as  a  calm,  self-reliant  debater,  rising 
in  the  midst  of  the  excited  Representatives  to  present  and 
support  his  convictions  concerning  the  moving  cause  of  the 
existing  commotion.  His  self-control  became  contagious, 
and  agitated  members  quickly  became  attentive  listeners. 
His  career  in  that  Congress  gave  notice  to  the  country  that 
in  any  parliamentary  emergency  liable  to  arise  in  the  history 
of  the  Government  Mr.  CRISP  would  prove  one  of  the  most 
competent  and  thoroughly  reliable  of  American  statesmen. 


Address  of  Mr.  Carter.  185 

The  Speakership  of  the  next  House  of  Representatives 
was  accorded  him  by  his  party  associates  in  recognition  of 
the  eminent  ability  displayed  by  him  in  the  course  of  his 
service  in  the  House.  While  his  partisanship  goes  unques 
tioned,  we  observed  with  intensified  regard  the  moral  cour 
age  which  impelled  him  to  adopt  views  he  had  previously 
opposed  when  those  views  became  confirmed  and  approved 
in  the  severe  test  of  parliamentary  experience. 

It  was  as  a  new  member  of  the  House  of  Representatives 
that  my  first  impressions  of  this  great  man  were  formed. 
He  was  a  generous  man;  he  was  a  just  man;  he  was  all 
that  is  embodied  in  the  phrase  so  often  applied  to  him — a 
fair-minded  man.  To  the  new  member  of  the  House  he 
extended  the  hand  of  cordial  good-fellowship  and  welcome. 
His  great  experience  and  logical  mind  always  stood  at  the 
ready  disposal  of  the  new  member.  It  is  the  recollection 
of  his  many  acts  of  considerate  kindness  to  which  I  ascribe 
the  affectionate  regard  in  which  his  memory  is  held.  While 
others  in  studied  phrase  analyze  his  character  and  the  les 
sons  of  his  life,  I  gratefully  avail  myself  of  the  sad  privilege 
of  recognizing  his  early  and  unfailing  courtesy  to  me  by 
placing  the  tribute  of  my  humble  praise  upon  his  honored 
"rave. 


i86      Life  and  Character  of  Charles  Frederick  Crisp. 


ADDRESS  OF  MR.  DANIEL. 

Mr.  DANIEL.  Mr.  President,  a  noble  character  has  disap 
peared  from  the  conspicuous  scenes  of  American  public 
life — a  man  who  had  the  good  will  and  the  confidence  of 
all  who  knew  him,  and  the  affection  of  all  who  knew  him 
well. 

The  death  of  CHARLES  FREDERICK  CRISP  is  a  great 
national  loss.  To  the  people  of  his  own  State  it  is  a  poign 
ant  affliction,  and  to  the  many  friends  whom  he  made 
in  his  career  in  the  capital  city  of  the  United  States 
it  is  a  source  of  deep  personal  grief.  A  number  of  those 
who  knew  him  and  associated  with  him  in  the  House  of 
Representatives  and  in  the  conferences  and  consultations  of 
our  public  affairs  have  analyzed  the  peculiar  features  of  his 
mind  and  have  painted  those  virtues  which  the  public  had 
thoroughly  realized  that  he  possessed.  I  shall  not  attempt, 
Mr.  President,  to  do  more  for  my  part  than  to  allude  to  a 
few  of  the  conspicuous  characteristics  of  Mr.  CRISP  and  to 
express  my  own  profound  sympathy  with  those  upon  whom 
his  death  has  so  heavily  fallen. 

I  think  it  may  be  said  of  him  that  no  man  has  taken  so 
conspicuous  a  position  in  public  life,  has  exercised  such 
great  responsibility,  has  been  thrown  in  conflict  with  such 
great  antagonisms  and  such  influential  interests,  who  at  the 
same  time  has  so  conducted  himself  as  to  achieve  more 
thoroughly  the  good  will  of  all  who  came  in  contact  with 
him. 

Mr.  CRISP  was  a  man  of  solid  and  substantial  character 
and  of  useful  gifts.  That  character  was  always  thrown  as 
a  great  weight  upon  the  side  which  he  deemed  to  be  right, 
and  those  gifts  were  always  employed  in  patriotic  interests. 


Address  of  Mr.  Daniel.  187 

It  may  be  truly  said  of  Mr.  CRISP  that  he  was  a  patriot. 
There  was  nothing  small,  nothing  mean,  nothing  narrow, 
nothing  sectional,  in  any  offensive  sense,  in  the  characteris 
tics  or  in  the  history  of  the  man.  He  was  a  manly  man,  a 
man  of  broad,  humane,  and  catholic  sympathies,  of  high 
and  noble  purposes,  and  he  never  thought  of,  much  less  did 
he  ever  condescend  to,  questionable  methods  or  offensive 
methods  in  achieving  his  purposes. 

I  think  that  the  great  weight  which  Mr.  CRISP  acquired 
in  the  House  of  Representatives  was  due  to  the  equilibrium 
of  his  temperament  and  to  the  well-ordered  adjustment  of 
his  fine  faculties.  His  mental  and  moral  virtues  were  well 
fused;  they  made  a  compact  and  wholesome  unit.  Every 
one  always  knew  where  he  stood;  everyone  felt  the  good 
influence  of  his  presence,  of  his  association,  and  of  his 
counsel. 

I  had  much  in  common  with  Mr.  CRISP  in  the  courses  of 
our  varied  lives.  We  entered  the  army  of  the  Confederate 
States  in  the  same  command,  in  that  immortal  band  known 
as  "the  Stonewall  Brigade,"  which  made  its  debut  in  his 
tory  on  the  first  field  of  Manassas,  and  bore  its  shredded  battle 
flags  in  the  last  conflict  at  Appomattox.  He  entered  that 
brigade  when  a  boy  of  16,  as  a  member  of  the  Tenth  Vir 
ginia  Infantry.  He  acquired  the  reputation  among  his 
comrades  of  being  a  good  soldier.  He  never  seemed  to 
desire  the  honors  or  shows  of  military  distinction,  but  he 
became  an  officer  before  he  was  yet  a  man.  He  was  con 
tent,  as  were  the  great  body  of  patriots  all  over  this  land 
who  gave  themselves  to  a  cause  and  to  a  flag,  to  do  his  duty 
as  he  thought  it  should  be  done,  and  was  content  that  it 
had  been  done. 

Mr.  CRISP  was  a  man  who  had  in  him  the  elements  of 
inevitable  success.  He  was  steady  of  purpose.  When  he 


1 88      Life  and  Character  of  Charles  Frederick  Crisp. 

set  his  head  in  any  direction,  he  persevered  and  continued 
to  persevere  in  that  direction.  Concentration  is  the  secret 
of  success.  Mr.  CRISP  possessed  concentration.  He  did  not 
seek  many  thing's  at  once.  He  took  in  hand  the  thing  that 
was  before  him;  he  did  it  well,  and  he  was  always  called 
np  higher  because  he  had  done  well  that  which  went  before. 

It  has  been  well  said,  Mr.  President,  by  a  fine  writer,  that 
self-control  is  the  highest  form  of  self-assertion.  Mr.  CRISP 
possessed  self-control.  He  was  well-poised;  he  was  always 
self-possessed.  Whatever  of  ability  and  of  talent  he  pos 
sessed  were  always  ready  and  available.  His  judgment  was 
almost  always  a  wise  judgment.  He  was  a  man  well  fitted 
to  elevate  and  honor  the  bench.  He  was  judicial  in  bear 
ing,  judicious  in  decision.  He  was  a  good  man.  His  heart 
was  in  the  right  place.  His  instincts  made  him  do  right 
without  reflection  in  those  moments  of  exigency  which  give 
little  time  for  reflection.  His  studious  disposition  made 
him  find  the  right  when  it  was  involved  in  perplexities 
and  complications. 

The  House  of  Representatives,  Mr.  President,  is  a  forum 
which  puts  to  sternest  tests  the  qualities  of  men  in  public 
life.  Of  all  the  theaters  in  which  political  ambition  and 
political  usefulness  are  exercised  it  is  the  most  exacting. 
In  the  House  of  Representatives,  among  the  many  brilliant 
men  who  represent  the  different  sections  of  this  great  and 
diversified  country,  there  is  soon  an  evolution  to  the  front 
of  the  strong  men.  We  often  see  there  men  of  great 
scholastic  ability  making  little  impression  upon  the  affairs 
of  the  country.  We  see  men  of  brilliant  oratorical  qualifi 
cations  and  forensic  talents  making  little  headway  in  influ 
ence,  and  reaching  but  small  consummations.  It  is  because 
there  is  necessary  to  success  in  that  body  a  peculiar  combi- 


Address  of  Mr.  Daniel.  189 

nation  of  talents,  a  mixture  of  tact,  judgment,  courage, 
skill,  ability  to  speak,  and  ability  to  keep  silent — a  certain 
practical  common  sense  withal,  a  certain  indefinable  and 
predominant  quality  which  we  can  never  exactly  estimate, 
which  we  can  never  thoroughly  analyze,  which  we  can 
never  paint  and  fully  describe,  but  which  is  ere  long  dis 
covered  to  be  in  one  man  or  another  when  large  assemblies 
are  brought  together.  We  all  know  that  Mr.  CRISP  was 
well  versed  in  parliamentary  law,  able  in  debate,  often 
times  powerful  and  effective  in  oratory.  We  all  know  that 
he  was  fair-minded,  discreet,  and  capable  in  counsel.  But, 
however  we  attempt  to  analyze  his  qualities  and  qualifica 
tions,  we  all  realize  that  he  had  such  as  made  men  honor 
and  follow  him. 

I  had  the  pleasure  of  first  making  the  acquaintance  of  Mr. 
CRISP  in  the  Forty-ninth  Congress.  He  was  then  a  young 
member,  gathering  his  earlier  experiences  of  Congressional 
life.  He  never  seemed  to  seek  position  of  conspicuous  dis 
tinction.  He  never  made  a  speech  for  the  mere  sake  of 
making  it.  He  never  showed  any  desire  for  display  or  effect 
or  applause  in  the  speeches  which  he  did  make  ;  but  when 
he  did  speak,  he  spoke  at  the  proper  time,  he  said  the  right 
thing,  and  in  effect  his  services  had  already  at  that  early 
stage  in  his  career  marked  him  as  a  man  who  would  lead 
and  influence  and  guide  men,  and  would  make  his  mark  in 
the  affairs  with  which  he  was  associated  in  conducting.  Year 
by  year  he  became  more  prominent.  He  came  in  collision 
with  the  ablest  minds  in  American  politics.  It  is  enough 
to  say  that  he  always  held  his  own.  He  was  thrown  in  most 
fierce  antagonism  with  the  great  interests  which  influence 
legislation  and  in  hot  conflict  upon  the  most  partisan  ques 
tions  which  have  ever  engaged  the  minds  of  the  American 


190      Life  and  Character  of  Charles  Frederick  Crisp. 

people.  He  came  to  the  front  rank  of  the  disputants.  In 
his  addresses  he  always  commanded  attention.  In  his  posi 
tions  he  always  attracted  support.  In  his  decisions  as 
Speaker  and  on  the  policies  he  pursued  he  made  but  few 
mistakes.  In  his  conduct  of  party  affairs  he  always  showed 
that  tact  and  wisdom  which  achieve  results,  or  come  as  near 
achieving  results  as  it  is  possible.  Though,  sir,  he  was  in 
the  heat  of  battle  for  many  years,  although  he  was  thrown 
in  antagonism  with  the  ablest  minds,  although  he  was  often 
suddenly  precipitated  into  debate  with  the  keenest  and 
subtlest  intellects,  although  day  after  day  he  had  to  show 
preference  between  one  man  and  another  or  make  sharp  and 
far-reaching  decisions,  the  fact  speaks  that  at  the  end  of  that 
career  all  who  were  associated  with  him,  whether  in  sym 
pathy  or  conflict,  whether  in  concurrence  or  disagreement — 
all  say,  "This  was  an  honorable  champion;  this  was  a  just 
man;  this  was  a  true  patriot;  this  was  a  noble  and  useful 
character;  this  was  a  good  citizen." 

All  bowed  their  heads  as  the  cortege  which  bore  his 
remains  passed  by,  and  all  would  fain  throw  a  flower  upon 
his  tomb. 

I  knew  Mr.  CRISP  in  other  capacities  than  that  of  legis 
lator.  I  had  the  privilege  of  enjoying  his  personal  friend 
ship,  of  meeting  him  often  in  genial  and  social  scenes. 
This  but  attracted  me  the  more  to  him. 

Mr.  CRISP  was  a  man  of  fine  manners  and  address,  natural 
and  unaffected.  He  had  the  instinctive  courtesy  which  is 
not  that  of  mannerism,  but  which  is  born  in  the  heart  and 
which  expresses  itself  in  the  many  small  and  nameless 
kindnesses  which  make  life  worth  living.  He  was  a  genial 
and  kind  companion;  he  was  a  true  friend;  and  though, 
sir,  there  are  many  who  have  decorated  his  name  with  more 


Address  of  Mr.  Daniel.  191 

fitting  praise  than  my  poor  words  convey,  there  are  none 
here  who  mourn  him  more  deeply  or  who  will  more  sin 
cerely  cherish  his  memory. 

Georgia  has  sent  to  both  Houses  of  Congress  many  able 
and  brilliant  men.  Among  them  the  name  and  fame  of 
Mr.  CRISP  will  always  shine  with  a  calm  and  steady  luster. 


192       Life  and  Character  of  Charles  Frederick  Crisp. 


ADDRESS  OF  MR.  BACON. 

Mr.  BACON.  Mr.  President,  the  many  touching,  beau 
tiful,  and  appropriate  eulogies  which  have  been  paid  to  the 
memory  of  our  friend  both  in  the  House  and  in  the  Senate 
leave  little  need  that  I  should  attempt  to  add  anything, 
however  brief.  I  may  be  pardoned,  however,  for  a  few 
words  before  asking  for  the  adoption  of  the  resolutions 
submitted  by  my  colleague. 

It  is  a  great  thing  for  one  to  be  an  acknowledged  leader 
among  men.  It  is  still  greater  for  one  to  be  recognized  by 
voluntary  acclaim  as  the  leader  among  a  concourse  of  those 
who  are  themselves  leaders.  But  greater  than  this  high 
distinction  is  the  honor,  when  such  a  one  falls  on  that 
high  arena  in  the  thick  of  the  combat,  that  the  strife 
ceases  and  that  there  are  offered  by  Representatives  and 
Senators  of  all  parties  and  sections — as  well  those  who 
have  contended  with  him  as  opponents  as  those  who  have 
striven  with  him  as  allies — such  tributes  to  his  character 
and  achievements  as  in  the  anticipation  would  fill  the 
measure  of  any  man's  ambition. 

Most  tenderly  will  these  words  of  affection  and  praise  be 
cherished  by  those  of  his  own  blood,  by  the  host  of  men 
knit  to  him  by  the  ties  of  friendship,  and  by  the  State 
which  has  most  lovingly  and  proudly  enrolled  his  name 
upon  the  list  of  her  most  distinguished  sons. 

Mr.  President,  I  need  not  say  more  of  those  qualities 
and  achievements  which  have  won  for  him  the  praise  and 
admiration  not  only  of  his  associates,  but  also  of  the 
nation;  and  yet  I  can  not  forbear  to  say  that  as  I  have 
listened  in  the  House  and  Senate  to  the  words  which 


Address  of  Mr.  Bacon.  193 

have  been  uttered  during  the  consideration  of  these  resolu 
tions  the  thought  has  come  to  me  that  if  it  were  mine  to 
write  his  epitaph  in  the  portrayal  of  his  personal  character, 
I  would  inscribe  but  the  single  line,  "All  men  loved  him." 

Twice,  Mr.  President,  within  less  than  three  years  has  the 
State  of  Georgia  stood  a  mourner  within  this  Chamber 
lamenting  the  loss  of  a  cherished  son  who  held  her  com 
mission  in  the  National  Congress.  The  first  of  these  had 
been  for  nearly  twelve  years  an  honored  member  of  this 
body.  He  to  whom  we  to-day  do  honor,  while  never  a  Sen 
ator,  occupied  a  peculiar  relation  to  the  Senate.  As  has 
been  told,  he  was  once  appointed  a  Senator,  but  duty,  whose 
voice  to  him  was  a  command,  denied  him  entrance  here; 
again,  two  years  later,  at  the  time  when  he  was  stricken 
down  as  with  a  lightning  shaft,  his  foot  was  on  the  very 
threshold  of  this  Chamber.  Already  chosen  by  the  well- 
nigh  unanimous  voice  of  the  people  expressed  through  a 
primary  election,  with  no  opposition  to  his  election  by  the 
legislature  which  was  to  assemble  within  a  week,  the  arm 
of  the  State  was  already  outstretched  to  place  within  his 
hand  her  commission  to  him  as  one  of  her  ambassadors  to 
this  high  council  of  the  representatives  of  States. 

From  one  point  of  view  there  was  never  a  sadder  picture 
of  disappointed  hope.  The  dream,  the  ambition  of  his  life, 
was  to  be  a  Senator  of  the  United  States.  Neither  in  public 
nor  in  private  had  he  disguised  its  avowal.  From  boyhood 
he  had  set  his  gaze  upon  it,  and  through  all  his  manhood  it 
was  the  goal  of  his  desire.  All  undaunted  by  obstacles,  he 
strove  to  reach  it.  Step  by  step  for  thirty  years,  unwearied, 
never  failing  in  resolve,  always  steadfast  in  endeavor,  he 
had  climbed  the  steep  ascent,  he  had  scaled  the  rugged  cliffs, 
he  had  gained  the  dizzy  height  where  shone  the  prize,  when 
in  a  moment  the  sun  of  his  life  went  out  at  noonday! 

H.  Doc.  255 13 


194      Life  and  Character  of  Charles  Frederick  Crisp. 

The  vainness  of  regret  stifles  not  the  tender  emotion  which 
this  contemplation  must  inspire  in  every  sympathetic  heart. 
When  the  full  span  of  life  has  been  accomplished,  when  the 
life  work  to  which  one  has  set  his  hand  has  in  his  labor 
found  full  fruition,  still  the  death  of  even  such  a  one,  the 
end  of  a  career  where  no  more  remains  for  achievement, 
nevertheless  brings  inevitable  sorrow  to  all  who  have  the 
instinct  of  life  and  who  shrink  back  from  the  mystery  of 
death.  But  deeper  must  be  the  emotion,  more  tragic  in  its 
nature  the  catastrophe,  when  in  mid  career  one  falls  in  life, 
as  fell  in  estate  the  great  cardinal,  while  he — 

Bears  his  blushing  honors  thick  upon  him. 

Mr.  President,  it  is  sad  to  see  even  the  shrunken  and 
withered  giant  trunk  sway  in  the  blast  and  fall  before  the 
fury  of  the  storm  ;  but  when  in  the  peaceful  sunshine,  when 
no  winds  blow,  when  no  cloud  is  in  the  sky,  all  suddenly 
falls  the  green  and  sturdy  oak,  we  start  back  shocked  and 
dismayed. 

Humanity  can  not  suppress  its  moan  in  the  presence  of 
death.  Around  it  there  is  such  impenetrable  mystery ; 
between  the  living  and  the  dead  there  is  such  an  unspeak 
able,  fathomless,  unmeasured  gulf.  Beside  the  bier  there 
is  only  remembrance  of  the  great  change,  the  life  that  has 
gone  from  among  us  and  can  never  return.  In  the  presence 
of  the  physical  ruin  the  heart  echoes  the  wail  of  Antony  by 
the  dead  body  of  Caesar : 

Are  all  thy  conquests,  glories,  triumphs,  spoils, 
Shrunk  to  this  little  measure  ? 

And  yet,  sir,  sad  as  is  this  contemplation,  wrung  and  torn 
as  are  the  hearts  of  those  who  mourn  his  loss,  who  can  view 
the  life  of  our  departed  friend,  so  rounded  and  so  symmet- 


Address  of  Mr.  Bacon.  195 

rical,  so  steady  in  its  upward  progress,  so  full  and  overflow 
ing  in  its  fruition,  and  not  say — it  may  be  through  blinding 
tears,  but  still  in  loving  pride — 'tis  well? 

And,  sir,  while  I  would  not  dry  one  tear  that  is  shed  for 
him,  while  I  would  not  suppress  one  moan  that  breathes 
out  the  sorrow  of  those  who  mourn  for  him,  yet  I  take 
heart  in  the  glad  thought  that  in  those  things  which  made 
our  friend  beloved  of  all,  in  those  things  which  made  him 
a  leader  among  men,  in  those  things  which  marked  him  in 
the  nation's  view  as  a  great  man,  in  all  these  things  he  is 
not  dead  and  can  not  die. 

More  lasting  than  the  marble  which  will  mark  his  last 
resting  place,  in  the  unfading  memory  of  all  who  knew  him 
in  life,  in  the  imperishable  archives  of  his  State  and  of  this 
great  nation,  will  ever  live  the  enduring  record  of  this  good 
and  great  man. 

And  not  as  a  memory  only  will  he  live.  The  teaching  of 
Revelation  finds  its  strongest  confirmation  in  the  conviction 
of  the  inner  consciousness  that  the  sun  of  this  life  does  not 
go  down  into  an  eternal  night.  Who  is  there  of  the  most 
skeptical  who  believes  that  the  soul  and  the  intellect  which 
looked  out  from  the  eyes  of  CHARLES  FREDERICK  CRISP, 
and  beamed  in  his  countenance  and  inspired  his  lips,  have 
perished  with  the  body  that  we  have  tenderly  laid  away 
from  our  sight?  There  is  that  within  that  tells  us  it 
can  not  be.  When  or  how  we  know  not,  but  the  undying 
yearnings  for  the  loved  ones  gone  before  tell  us  that  we 
shall  meet  again. 

In  the  drama  of  Ion,  the  young  heathen  Greek,  forewarned 
by  the  Oracles  of  impending  death  by  violence,  comes  to 
part  with  the  maiden  he  loves.  She  asks  him,  "Shall  we 
meet  again?"  He  replies  that  he  has  asked  that  dread 


196      Life  and  Character  of  Charles  Frederick  Crisp. 

question  of  the  hills  that  look  eternal;  of  the  streams  that 
flow  on  forever;  of  the  stars  amid  whose  azure  fields  his 
spirit  had  walked  in  glory.  To  that  question  they  all  had 
been  dumb.  ' '  But  now, ' '  he  adds,  ' '  while  thus  I  gaze  upon 
thy  living  face,  I  feel  the  love  that  kindles  through  its 
beauty  can  never  wholly  perish.  We  shall  meet  again.'1 

Mr.  President,  I  ask  for  the  adoption  of  the  pending 
resolutions. 

The  resolutions  were  unanimously  agreed  to;  and  (at  4 
o'clock  and  20  minutes  p.  in.)  the  Senate  adjourned  until 
to-morrow  (Tuesday),  January  26,  1897,  at  12  o'clock 
meridian. 


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